“In the words of Muhammad Ali: ‘We have shaken the world’,” said Abdul El-Sayed, quoting the famous statement of the boxer after his unexpected victory over Sonny Liston in 1964, upon learning the results of the Michigan Democratic Senate primaries, in which he defeated moderate Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens by a margin of 15,000 votes.
It was a historic victory for the party’s dissident left wing and a sign that the battle with centrists over the party’s direction is far from resolved. According to The Wall Street Journal, El-Sayed built a national public image thanks to an ambitious liberal agenda, his mastery of social media, and the support of key Democratic Party figures.
Like many left-wing candidates, El-Sayed supports universal healthcare and free childcare, and advocates for the abolition of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has also referred to Israel’s actions, describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
Although he is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, El-Sayed has the support of many who are part of that movement, including independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. “I am not a member of the DSA, neither technically nor practically,” he told The Wall Street Journal last month. El-Sayed stated he is not against capitalism if there are sufficient safeguards.
At every stop, he cites a campaign slogan resembling “eliminate the influence of money in politics, increase wealth, and promote universal healthcare.”
“We observe a pattern already seen in other Democratic primaries: a party apparatus candidate facing a personality often coming from civil society and more left-wing,” Seth Masket, a political scientist specializing in U.S. primaries at the University of Denver, told France 24.
The November midterm elections will determine the balance of power in Washington during the last two years of President Donald Trump’s term.
Trump declared that the result of the Michigan Senate elections was “great news for the Republican Party.”
In his post on Truth Social, Trump referred to the Democratic Party as the “Dumbocrats” and claimed that their “crazy policies will only get worse.”
After a tough and sometimes bitter campaign, El-Sayed implied he would seek to reconcile the population when he addressed his supporters Tuesday night, before the result was known.
“Whatever happens tonight, we have the responsibility to make sure we unite, to come together to ensure that (Republican) Mike Rogers never sets foot in the United States Senate again.”
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El-Sayed, 41, grew up in the Detroit area. A Muslim and son of parents who emigrated from Egypt, he graduated from the University of Michigan, where he was part of the lacrosse team. He later earned a medical degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in public health from the University of Oxford.
A former local public health official, he has never held elected office. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer defeated El-Sayed in the 2018 gubernatorial primaries by 22 percentage points.
Like many progressives after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020, El-Sayed called for police budget cuts. Since then, he has deleted his posts on the subject and says he now rejects the idea, suggesting a more nuanced approach is needed to balance policing with other services that could help reduce crime and police calls.
The Wall Street Journal said that for years, El-Sayed “called himself a doctor, but there is no public evidence that he has experience as a licensed physician.”
“He studied to be a doctor but realized it was our dysfunctional political system that was making people sick,” said a biography on his campaign website. “He rebuilt the Detroit Health Department after bankruptcy. Then he restructured the Wayne County Department of Health, Human Services, and Veterans Affairs,” it added.
For decades, U.S. support for Israel has been one of the few foreign policy issues that generate consensus in Washington. Israel’s war in Gaza, following Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, is shaking the Democratic base. “The shock was almost instantaneous,” Seth Masket told France 24. “Just a few years ago, this alliance (with Israel) was practically part of American political identity. That is no longer the case for a significant part of the Democratic electorate.”
This shift is particularly noticeable among young voters. During the 2024 presidential campaign, even Democratic candidate Kamala Harris acknowledged the growing division on the issue within her own party.
Abdul El-Sayed specifically denounces the influence of money in politics and presents AIPAC’s influence as a symbol of an unbalanced system.
“This election pits those with the power of money against those with the power of numbers,” he declared, which inevitably provoked accusations of antisemitism from some Democrats and Republicans. “AIPAC and Israel are not synonymous with Judaism or the Jewish people,” he replied.
France 24 noted that the financial battle around these primaries reached unprecedented proportions, with a total of 60 million dollars spent in favor of the two candidates, either by organizations affiliated with AIPAC or by progressive interest groups. This record has reignited the debate over campaign financing in the United States.
