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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed shifted into general-election mode Sunday, emphasizing party unity after a bruising primary victory over Rep. Haley Stevens that exposed deep rifts between the Democratic establishment and its progressive wing.
“The differences that we hashed out are so much smaller than the similarities that we share,” El-Sayed said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
El-Sayed has reached out to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer to smooth over tensions after calling for his removal as party leader during the primary campaign. He has also spoken with former President Barack Obama as he works to consolidate support ahead of November.
The nominee is now courting centrists and independents after campaigning on primary positions viewed as too extreme for the general electorate, including abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and cutting off military aid to Israel.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking on journalist Kara Swisher’s podcast, said El-Sayed and other progressive Democrats should reconcile with centrist Democrats “that they were vilifying online.” Clinton added that she hopes candidates who perform well on camera can also “produce results.”
El-Sayed expressed confidence he can defeat Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former congressman, and said he is already looking ahead to a potential Democratic Senate majority, calling for the party to use subpoena power to investigate whether Trump administration officials used policies for personal enrichment.
Rogers, meanwhile, is actively courting disaffected Democratic voters, saying in a public appeal that Michigan voters who reject “anger, divisiveness” and “calls for violence” have “a home with us.”
El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, said he wants Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify before Congress over his handling of public health matters, including a recent lettuce-linked outbreak. He also called for tax reform benefiting lower-income Americans over wealthy taxpayers.
While El-Sayed does not identify as a socialist, he aligns with Sen. Bernard Sanders’ push for “Medicare for all,” acknowledging the Senate filibuster’s 60-vote threshold as a practical obstacle. He said restoring expanded Obamacare subsidies could serve as an interim step.
Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to retake the majority, making Michigan’s open seat — held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters — pivotal. California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned in Michigan Sunday for down-ballot candidates and said he would meet El-Sayed Monday, calling the Senate majority fight dependent on holding the state.
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