Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota threw her support behind Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's open Senate race on Thursday, adding a prominent progressive voice to a primary that pits the party's left flank against its moderate wing.
In a post on X, Smith called El-Sayed a “fighter” and argued he is best positioned to win the general election in November. “He has the capacity to build the grassroots movement that is really going to power Democrats to victory,” Smith said in a video accompanying the endorsement.
El-Sayed, a physician and former director of Detroit's health department, is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Gary Peters. The primary, set for August, will test the strength of the party's progressive wing against establishment-backed candidates.
Smith joins a growing list of national progressives backing El-Sayed, including Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Their support underscores the high stakes in a race that could shape the Senate's ideological balance.
El-Sayed welcomed Smith's endorsement, saying she “has been a fighter for working people in the US Senate.” He added that he hopes to build on her work on women's health and reproductive rights, which “has paved the way for the future I want for my daughters and every American.”
On the other side, Representative Haley Stevens, a moderate from Michigan's 11th district, has secured support from a cadre of Democratic heavyweights, including Peters, former Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senators Chris Coons and Catherine Cortez Masto, and former Governor Jennifer Granholm. Stevens has positioned herself as a pragmatic problem-solver, a contrast to El-Sayed's more left-leaning platform.
A recent poll shows Stevens leading El-Sayed by about seven points, with 48.2 percent support to his 41.4 percent. However, the race remains fluid, and El-Sayed's campaign hopes to close the gap by mobilizing young voters and progressives, a demographic that has shown increasing influence in recent primaries, as highlighted in our analysis of how age, not ideology, is driving Democratic primary upsets.
The Michigan primary is one of several key contests that could determine control of the Senate. With Democrats holding a narrow majority, every seat matters. The outcome of the Peters seat will likely hinge on which candidate can best energize the party's base while appealing to swing voters in a state that has trended Democratic in recent cycles but remains competitive.
Smith's endorsement adds momentum to El-Sayed's bid, but the race remains a toss-up. Both candidates are expected to ramp up their efforts as the primary draws closer, with national attention fixed on Michigan as a bellwether for the party's direction.
