Progressive former public health official Abdul el Sayed is maintaining his lead over establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s Senate seat as primary day inches closer.
El Sayed led Stevens by a 10-percentage-point margin in the latest Tavern Research internal poll, which was first reported by Politico. The margin is a growth indicator for el Sayed’s campaign, which was ahead by just single digits in the pollster’s last survey on the race, when state Sen. Mallory McMorrow was still campaigning. McMorrow has since dropped out of the race but is still on the ballot.
In the heated primary to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat, el Sayed has largely led in the polls by single digits, save for a few polls that have had him up by double digits or Stevens leading by a few points. The race has been a bellwether fight between el Sayed’s socialist-backed, anti-American Israel Public Affairs Committee messaging, and Stevens’ commitment to pro-Israel Democratic rhetoric hailed by party leaders like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The two Democratic candidates faced off in a final debate on Monday night, in which they sparred mainly over AIPAC, campaign funding, and their views on Israel-related policy. El Sayed also answered for his controversial comment about Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), in which he said he would ideally “put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message,” which was also first reported by Politico.
“I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman, who’s a senator from Pennsylvania who has done terrible things, got elected on a set of values, and is now completely throwing those values in the mud,” said el Sayed, who has criticized Fetterman’s vehement support of Israel.
Tavern Research conducted the survey from Sunday, July 26, through Monday, July 27, and el Sayed’s comment was first reported by Politico on Monday.
The winner of Michigan’s Democratic primary on Aug. 4 will take on Republican candidate former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who is backed by President Donald Trump.
ABDUL EL SAYED’S 2028 AMBITIONS CLOUD MICHIGAN SENATE RACE AGAINST HALEY STEVENS
Although Michigan currently has two Democratic U.S. Senators and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), who endorsed Stevens, Trump won Michigan in 2016 and 2024. Cook Political Report rates the Senate race in the purple state as a toss-up.
Rogers has competed to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate before, falling to current Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2024 by just about a 19,000-vote, or 0.3-percentage-point margin.