Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive former Wayne County health director, secured the Democratic nomination for Michigan's open Senate seat on Wednesday, then wasted no time in going after his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, labeling him a carpetbagger and a "corporate sellout."
In his first post-primary remarks to supporters, El-Sayed accused Rogers of spending 14 years in Congress primarily to enrich himself after leaving office. "Mike's a guy who spent 14 years in Congress with one goal: to figure out how to cash out the day he left," El-Sayed said. "And guess what he did? As soon as he left Congress, after having taken corporate check after corporate check to empower the corporations to pick your pockets, he went and he cashed out."
El-Sayed also jabbed at Rogers for relocating to Florida after his House tenure, saying, "Mike, if you want to be a Florida man, go be a Florida man."
The primary was a tight contest, with El-Sayed edging out centrist Representative Haley Stevens by roughly one percentage point, according to Decision Desk HQ, with over 95 percent of the vote counted by Wednesday afternoon. Democrats quickly rallied around El-Sayed, aware that a fractured primary could jeopardize their bid to hold the battleground seat in November. Stevens congratulated El-Sayed and endorsed him, while Governor Gretchen Whitmer and retiring Senator Gary Peters—who had initially backed Stevens—also threw their support behind the nominee.
Republicans, however, see El-Sayed as a weaker general-election candidate. The Senate GOP's campaign arm launched an ad on Wednesday using his full name—Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed—and calling him "the most radical Senate candidate in America." Former President Trump also weighed in on Truth Social, branding El-Sayed a "Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel" and welcoming his nomination as "great news for the Republican Party."
Rogers framed the race as a stark choice between "common sense or complete insanity," describing El-Sayed as an "extremist" leading a movement "grounded in ideological fanaticism." He attacked El-Sayed on crime, public safety, taxes, and his ties to left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who faced backlash for suggesting the U.S. "deserved" the 9/11 attacks. Rogers also invoked the Muslim Brotherhood in his criticisms.
El-Sayed pushed back on the attacks, particularly on the pronunciation of his name. "Mike, listen, man, if you can't say the name is Abdulrahman—keep the name out your damn mouth," he said. "I'll be happy to give you lessons."
One key challenge for El-Sayed is rebuilding trust with Jewish voters. He was asked about his earlier comments on a deadly attack at a West Bloomfield synagogue, when he said "hurt people, hurt people." He clarified, "What I mean is that hurt people, hurt people. That maybe if we're serious about ending the hurt, we should stop hurting people. I condemn the attack. It was a vile anti-Semitic attack." He added, "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to my own kids, and that's the highest commitment I can offer as a father."
El-Sayed has been critical of Israel's government, calling its military actions in Gaza a "genocide" and opposing unconditional aid to Israel. His positions could test his appeal in a state with a significant Jewish community.
State Senator Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the primary in July, endorsed El-Sayed and urged Democrats to unify. "I can promise you that today, Mike Rogers and Donald Trump are looking at Michigan, and they are hoping that these family fights that we had, the disagreements within the Democratic Party are the fights that we're going to retain through November," she said.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a super PAC aligned with Senate Democratic leadership have both signaled support for El-Sayed, while the GOP's campaign arm is already targeting him. With the toss-up matchup set, both sides are gearing up for a bruising fall campaign.
