President Donald Trump was in a celebratory mood Wednesday morning after Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate, pulled off a narrow upset in Michigan’s Democrat Senate primary.
El-Sayed defeated Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), the establishment favorite whose supporters poured more than $30 million into the race. Trump wasted no time calling the result a gift to Republicans.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 5, 2026
Trump wrote:
Great news for the Republican Party. El-Sayed, a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel, is the projected winner in his race with the Socialist. As usual, the Polls were way off on this one. She was not expected to do nearly as well as she did. Now, the Democrats' crazy policies will only get worse!
The race was called Wednesday morning with nearly all ballots counted. El-Sayed led Stevens by roughly one percentage point, 48.5 percent to 47.5 percent. Fewer than 15,000 votes separated them out of more than 1.5 million cast.
It was much closer than late polling suggested, but Stevens still lost despite the money and institutional support behind her.
El-Sayed will face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI). Rogers ran unopposed in the Republican primary and has Trump’s endorsement.
Michigan backed Trump in 2024. The Senate race could help decide which party controls the chamber during the final two years of his presidency.
Read More: Abdul El-Sayed Projected to Win Michigan Democrat Senate Primary in Big Blow to Establishment Dems
The Democrat Establishment's Pivot on DSA Insurgency Begins, and This Is Not Gonna Go Well
El-Sayed ran on Medicare for All, a tax on billionaire wealth, abolishing the Senate filibuster, and ending unconditional American military aid to Israel. He has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. His endorsers include Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Those positions created a problem for Democrat officials who spent the primary warning voters about El-Sayed and then had to prepare to support him.
Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan (MI-06) offered a preview during an interview one day before the primary. Dingell declined to defend El-Sayed’s position on Israel but promised to support him if he won.
BILL HEMMER: “If El-Sayed is the winner, will you endorse him?”
DINGELL: “I will endorse the entire Democratic ticket.”
Hemmer pressed Dingell on how she could support a candidate whose views she would not defend. She said she had told El-Sayed what she thought and then complained about political “labels.”
Once the race was called, Stevens (D-MI-11) completed the same turn. She congratulated El-Sayed and pledged to support him against Rogers, only hours after her allies had spent tens of millions of dollars trying to keep him off the November ballot.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley argued that Democrat leaders believe they can use the party's radical wing to regain power without eventually being displaced by it. He's right, and Michigan just supplied another data point proving it won't work out that way.
El-Sayed’s victory gives the DSA its first statewide Democrat primary win in a competitive purple state this cycle. DSA-backed candidates have also been winning Democratic House primaries in blue districts across Colorado and New York, with several likely headed to Congress in January.
A Senate victory in Michigan would give the organization much more than another friendly vote in Washington. It would show that a DSA-backed candidate can win statewide in a battleground Trump carried two years earlier, encouraging the group to challenge establishment Democrats in even more races.
For now, Republicans have three months to put El-Sayed’s record in front of Michigan voters. Medicare for All, higher taxes, ending the filibuster, cutting military aid to Israel, and a roster of socialist supporters give Rogers plenty to work with.
Trump plainly likes those odds. Democrats must now sell Michigan voters on the candidate their own establishment spent more than $30 million trying to stop.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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