Michigan Democrats on Friday urged voters to rally behind their statewide candidates, three days after a bitter U.S. Senate contest highlighted divisions between the party’s progressive and moderate wings.
A slate of nominees and other notable Democrats emphasized unity to a crowd of more than 1,000, who cheered loudest for Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official. He narrowly beat establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens in a contentious, closely watched primary for an open U.S. Senate seat.
“Michigan, we will fight to build the America that we are proud to hand off to our kids and our grandkids,” El-Sayed said at a podium beneath a scoreboard in a Detroit high school gym.
With less than three months before the general election where El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, the Democratic Party is under pressure to close ranks in a race that will help determine control of the Senate.
“In the spirit of coming together, I want to thank both of my colleagues who ran, Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow, for an incredible race,” El-Sayed said. McMorrow, a state senator, suspended her campaign in July and appeared alongside El-Sayed at a Wednesday event after his victory.
Current Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ decision to not seek reelection left the seat open. Michigan is a perennial battleground state, having voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump again in 2024.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 presidential contender and Michigan resident, referenced the seat’s national implications, prompting cheers from the crowd.
“The stakes are high, and people from around the country, people from around the world, are watching the state of Michigan right now to see if we have the capability to put together that coalition to win,” he said. “And we will win.”
Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state who is running for governor, referenced an attempt by the Trump administration to access Michigan voters’ personal information. A federal judge ruled in June that the state does not have to share voters’ information with the federal government. Benson won her primary easily and will face Trump-backed Rep. John James in the general election.
“You all know who I work for. All of you and every Michigander in this state — not the highest bidder, not corporate interests, not Donald Trump,” Benson said.
Other statewide candidates who spoke included Eli Savit, who is running for attorney general, and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, who is running for secretary of state. The crowd cheered and stomped their feet on the gym bleachers when speakers talked about reproductive rights, protection for voters and opposing the Trump administration.
Before the rally started, attendee Tom Moran carried a banner that read “Unite behind the winner.” The school bus driver from Fenton, Michigan, voted for Stevens in the primary.
“Now I’m saying, take the pledge. Unite behind our nominee,” Moran, 71, said.
The messy primary between El-Sayed and Stevens occasionally got personal. El-Sayed told Semafor in early July that Stevens couldn’t “string together two coherent sentences.” In a separate interview, he called Stevens “the least capable candidate in America.”
Stevens, in turn, accused El-Sayed of chasing publicity.
“I’m the only one on this stage who doesn’t have a talent agent trying to pitch me for paid speeches,” she said during a debate against El-Sayed. “And unlike my opponent, I’m not running at the first mic or camera I see.”
Stevens, who lost the primary by just under 1 percentage point, told CBS News on Thursday that she was willing to campaign with El-Sayed.
“Whatever he wants me to do,” she said. Stevens appeared Thursday with El-Sayed at a breakfast hosted by the Michigan Democratic Party.
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GaNun is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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