The Aug. 4 Primary proved to be a tight race for Democratic Socialist candidate Abdul El-Sayed, narrowly beating Democratic candidate Haley Stevens by 31,000 votes or a 3% margin. El-Sayed is now set to face Republican candidate Mike Rogers in the General Election on Nov. 3 later this year.
“In the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world,” El-Sayed said in his victory speech following the results.
“I want to say first and foremost, how grateful I am for the opportunity to participate in democracy,” he said. “Now my family immigrated from a place where there is not democracy. You can not just put your hand up and run. The ability to do this, to have our voices heard, to select our leaders, it is a gift we sometimes take for granted.”
During his speech, El-Sayed acknowledged and thanked his colleagues, family, and supporters, and complimented Stevens on her commitment and character, stating that despite the differences during the campaign, both Stevens and he are committed to keeping Mike Rogers out of the Senate. He then briefly spoke on his experience campaigning, traveling around the state, and highlighted how his opposition spent 70,000 on ads and campaigning and lost.
El-Sayed used the opportunity to both reiterate his goals to the crowd, claiming that he still plans to obtain free health care for the whole country one day, and also to acknowledge the current actions and statements against him.
“You know, they think that they want to use my whole name against me,” El-Sayed stated, referencing Rogers’ attempt to pronounce his name. “If you can’t say the name, it’s Abdulrahman. Keep the name out your damn mouth.”
In addition to asking Rogers not to say his name if he can’t pronounce it, El-Sayed also highlighted Rogers’ other actions and policies to demonstrate the extent of how connected Rogers is to the Trump administration and multi-million-dollar corporations.
“Mike Rogers is a guy who, believe it or not, went back to Florida so he could lick every boot Donald Trump owns, to beg for his endorsement,” El-Sayed said. “I’m so sorry, but if you want a senator that’s going to lick some boots, fine, go vote for Mike Rogers. But if you want a senator who’s going to stand up to Donald Trump, then you’ve got your option right here.”
As he concluded, El-Sayed highlighted that the upcoming election isn’t about politicians, but rather the country, highlighting how it allowed him to be who he is now and how it should serve the people before all else.
“That’s what this is about. Building a movement to take our democracy back to serve the people who absolutely deserve the best of what America has to offer,” El-Sayed said.
Since the election results, Stevens has released a statement expressing her support for El-Sayed and the Democratic Party, despite past debates between them.
“I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He is a doctor, a community health official, a Rhodes Scholar, and a dedicated Michigander. I am proud to offer my support as he takes Mike Rogers in the general election,” Stevens said.
Stevens stated that the campaign demonstrated the span of views within the Democratic Party, expressing that, despite everything, she was proud to “make sure this Senate seat remains blue.”
During her statement, Stevens portrayed a theme of unity against Mike Rogers, President Trump, and, to an extent, the Republican Party as a whole and their supporters despite the infighting of the primary.
“Donald Trump and Mike Rogers want us to come out of this primary tired and divided, so their billionaire backers can come in and let multimillionaire Mike Rogers walk away with this Senate seat,” Stevens said. “They want to keep the Senate red, so Mike Rogers can keep rubber-stamping Donald Trump’s harmful agenda of higher prices, manufacturing jobs lost nationwide, corruption and abuses of power, and so he can ban abortion, gut health care, and roll back workers’ rights and voting rights.”
Stevens expressed the importance of primaries and her gratitude for being part of an effort to keep the Senate blue and continue the work being done in Michigan. At the end of her statement, she acknowledged and thanked her parents, supporters, and fellow politicians, including U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In an interview with Lawrence Jones on Fox News, Rogers expressed his thoughts on El-Sayed’s political position, Michigan’s election process, as well as his personal career.
The Republican Senate candidate began by comparing the process of counting Wayne County’s votes to California, stating that “our election system here in Michigan is broken.”
Rogers called El-Sayed a “Socialist,” stating: “I have never seen someone so radical, so extreme, getting nominated by a political party and DSA candidates in the state, in two different congressional races,” Rogers said. “The Democratic Party is lost to this hardcore socialist attitude.”
In a final remark, Rogers noted his role as a former U.S. FBI special agent as well as a chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
“I fought terrorism my whole life,” Rogers said. “I find it shocking that I’m going to go up against a guy who believes America deserved 9/11. That’s why this race is so important.”
In other news, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican U.S. Rep. John James won their primaries and will run against each other for Michigan Governor in the general election.
Read more about Michigan’s Primary results here.
Collegiate editor Grace Holmes contributed to this report.
