As the dust settles on the Michigan Senate primaries, Republican candidate Mike Rogers must be popping open a bottle of champagne right now in celebration of the results. Not due to his own primary — he ran uncontested — but the Democratic primary, where radical leftist Abdul el Sayed has defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
There are two key takeaways from el Sayed’s victory that cannot go unmentioned: First, Michigan’s Democratic Party has fallen to the “Mamdani Left.” While el Sayed says he is not “technically or practically” a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, his platform aligns with the far-left organization’s goals, and his public allies are self-professing “democratic socialists.” Second, Michigan is a swing state — which does not bode well for a radical candidate on either side of the political aisle.
President Donald Trump won the state twice, in 2016 and most recently in 2024, and was fewer than three percentage points away from winning it in 2020. That’s why Stevens would have been far more dangerous in the 2026 election. While Michigan is Trump-friendly, it has elected Democrats in seven of the last nine presidential elections — meaning it’s absolutely winnable for the right Democrat. A moderate fits that bill far better than a divisive, far-left “progressive.”
When there is no real competition from the opposition, such as in deep-red or deep-blue districts and states, you see radical representation far more often. In a primary, voters have to weigh two main factors: Which candidate aligns most with their views, and which is more electable in the general election? When the second question is taken out of the equation, or valued less than the first question, voters often pick the more radical candidate. This is how Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MI), and Marjorie Taylor Greene were elected. Michigan Democrats are either so ideologically to the Left that they have discounted the electability concerns, or they made a major miscalculation in nominating el Sayed.
Rogers won’t have to do much digging to find damaging information about his Democratic opponent — every time el Sayed speaks, he gives Republicans more material. This is the same guy who said he didn’t want to comment on Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death because “a lot of people in Dearborn are sad.” Meanwhile, the families victimized by Khamenei’s terrorist regime celebrated in the streets. El Sayed, sharing the views of the DSA, calls Israel a “rogue state,” refuses to affirm its right to exist, and seemingly blames it for everything wrong in his state. He campaigned alongside outspoken DSA members Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who similarly and wrongfully accuse the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza. 2024 exit polls showed Michigan voters largely felt Trump’s support for Israel didn’t go far enough, or was “just right.”
Immigration was the No. 1 issue that got Trump elected in the state of Michigan, according to the 2024 exit polls, yet el Sayed wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It’s not just a radical policy — it’s an unpopular one. While many voters are critical of certain actions taken by Israel and ICE, few (outside of Dearborn, apparently) are as extreme as el Sayed in wanting to eliminate them.
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A similar dynamic to the Michigan election is playing out in Texas right now, where Republicans nominated the less electable, but more MAGA-aligned, state Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who has a proven track record of winning statewide elections. James Talarico is leading Paxton in the polls as a result — and Texas is far less Democrat-friendly than Michigan is, and Paxton is nowhere near the radical el Sayed is. I still think Paxton will win in the state that has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1972, but it shouldn’t be as close as it is. In Michigan, Democrats aren’t playing with such a built-in lead.
The Democrats had a real chance to take back the Great Lakes State, but they blew it by nominating el Sayed. In doing so, they are helping to hand the Senate majority to the GOP. The Left needs a net gain of four Senate seats this year. Without Michigan, their odds are daunting. As a Republican, I am grateful for their blunder. As an American, I am concerned about the direction of their party.