Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pledged Democrats will support whichever candidate comes out on top in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary despite her staunch support for progressive candidate Abdul el Sayed.
El Sayed received Ocasio-Cortez’s backing earlier this month, a rare honor, as the congresswoman has been cautious of extending endorsements in the 2026 midterm elections. El Sayed is facing off against Ocasio-Cortez’s House colleague Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Aug. 4 primary election, the victor of which will compete against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, the presumptive Republican nominee, in the general election.
Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the idea that backing el Sayed means she thinks Stevens should lose in the primary, rather emphasizing the Democratic Party’s desire to take back control of the House and Senate.
“I don’t think this is about why anyone should lose,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I think that that is a frame that is really limiting. … I don’t believe in kind of a vengeful or negative politics.”
Although Ocasio-Cortez has joined el Sayed for campaigning events and has been dedicated to his cause, she explained that should he lose, the Democratic nominee will still receive her support.
“Whoever wins this primary, we are forcefully supporting, no matter what,” she said. “We are here to win Democrats the majority in the House and in the Senate. Whoever wins this primary, this is what primaries are for.”
THE MOST IMPORTANT SENATE RACE IN DECADES IS HAPPENING IN MICHIGAN
El Sayed has centered his campaign on pledging not to accept corporate PAC money, an attack he has continually used against Stevens. Ocasio-Cortez framed her support for el Sayed not as her rooting against Stevens but rather as “a referendum on the role of special interests and dark money in Democratic primaries than it is about any one individual.”
El Sayed on Thursday received an endorsement from Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), adding to the progressive’s list of support from sitting senators, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).