El Sayed widens lead against establishment-backed Stevens in Michigan Senate race

Abdul el Sayed is substantially expanding his lead against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the final days of the competitive Democratic primary race for an open Senate seat in Michigan.Multiple new polls compiled by the New York Times show the progressive front-runner with a double-digit lead over his establishment-backed opponent.El Sayed is ahead of Stevens by 19 points in a poll conducted by Zenith Research on behalf of the progressive Fighting for Michigan PAC, which supports el Sayed’s campaign. A separate poll from SoCal Strategies sees el Sayed with a 17-point lead, and another survey from Mitchell Research & Communications shows him holding a 14-point advantage over the centrist Democrat. The latest Emerson College poll for the primary tells a similar story, with el Sayed leading Stevens by 16 points when the pollster accounts for which candidate undecided voters are leaning toward. Without the undecided voters, el Sayed is still ahead by 15 points. Only 6% of the likely Democratic primary voters who responded to the poll were still undecided at this stage in the race.In a previous poll released earlier this week, a 15% share of undecided voters outsized the progressive’s 11-point lead.If the polling holds true and he wins the Aug. 4 primary, el Sayed will become the party’s nominee to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and take on the Trump-backed Republican candidate, former Rep. Mike Rogers, in November. In 2024, Rogers failed to win Michigan’s other Senate seat currently held by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) by a narrow margin of votes.The race between el Sayed and Stevens has been a bitter one, with the socialist-backed progressive calling out the House Democrat for being beholden to her pro-Israel and corporate donors. Stevens, in turn, has tried tying el Sayed to the Michigan GOP, suggesting that he is Republicans’ best-case scenario for Rogers to win the election.El Sayed is backed by the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), two prominent leaders within the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. Sanders caucuses with Senate Democrats, though he identifies as an independent.EL SAYED STAYS AHEAD OF STEVENS IN FINAL WEEK OF MICHIGAN PRIMARY, BUT UNDECIDED VOTERS OUTSIZE HIS LEADMeanwhile, Stevens has a slew of endorsements from Democratic Party establishment figures, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI).Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race in early July, but she still remains on the primary ballot. She has not endorsed either of her former primary rivals.