Former Clinton Pollster Has Bad News for El-Sayed in Michigan Senate Race

Abdul El-Sayed may have won the Democratic primary for the Senate seat from Michigan —just barely, after a contentious battle with Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11).

But now he has a problem that's called the general election, and he will be facing Republican Mike Rogers. As we reported, there are some factors that are not looking good for him in that race.

First, as we reported, there were the Democrats who were unhappy with his extreme leftist and anti-Israel positions, as well as his association with the radical streamer Hasan Piker. Even MS NOW had to acknowledge they were running into these people. When they're saying it, you know it's a real issue.

Then there's the problem of the working class. The far-left and socialist candidates keep saying that's who they're working for. But funny, how it's the working class who doesn't seem to be voting for them. The counties that El-Sayed won were the college town areas, not working-class areas. So appealing more to the elitists, as CNN's Harry Enten termed it. Those are the people to whom his spew is appealing, similar leftists, not the people who have to deal more with practical reality.

The lens to see Michigan's primary tonight is education. MI is -4% less college educated than the nation. El-Sayed's crushing it in "sheepskin counties" like Kent (41% college AES +26) & Washtenaw (59% college, AES +30), Stevens doing much better in Wayne (28% college, HS +8) &… pic.twitter.com/dRLbY9MCVB
— Brad Todd (@BradOnMessage) August 5, 2026

Now, former Clinton pollster Mark Penn has some more bad news for El-Sayed.

💥NEW: Former Clinton Pollster Mark Penn: "It is HIGHLY LIKELY that you're gonna find 5% of those Stevens voters who are gonna switch to the other side — and that ALONE would give a margin of victory to Rogers." pic.twitter.com/QyepqDyclt
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 6, 2026

Penn believes it was "highly likely" that you were going to find at least 5 percent of those Stevens voters who were going to switch to the other side. "And that alone would give a margin of victory to Rogers," Penn concluded.

That certainly appears to match with the anecdotal evidence of the people unhappy with the choice of El-Sayed. Plus, there are those Democrats who may just sit out and not vote if they have a hesitancy to vote for Rogers. That's one of the reasons that Decision Desk moved their projection from "lean Democrat" to "toss-up."

🚨 WOW! MSNOW is now PANICKING after Democrat voters told her they're voting Mike Rogers (R) because Abdul El Sayed (D) became the MI Senate nominee

"Some Democrats I've talked to...on the plane this morning a guy said to me, 'I'm anxious...' he said, 'I voted for Haley… https://t.co/MweVr8G4bb pic.twitter.com/iuEXdhiAyL
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 5, 2026

Rogers needs to offer a good positive message, reach out to Democrats, and he can do it. Meanwhile, El-Sayed's supporter Hasan Piker is calling other Democrats names.

Then, if the Republicans can flip Michigan, that would likely kill any dreams the Democrats have of trying to grab the Senate.

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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