Published on 05/08/2026 - 18:22 GMT+2•Updated 19:04

Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic party's Senate primary election in the US state of Michigan on Wednesday, highlighting key internal differences over the party's direction.

El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate congresswoman Haley Stevens - who was backed by many of the party's senior establishment figures such as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer - in what became an expensive proxy battle over the party's course.

He will now go on to face Republican Mike Rogers in November in a bid to keep the Senate seat with the Democrats. November's elections will determine the makeup of Congress for US President Donald Trump's remaining time in power.

"We won," El-Sayed wrote in a post on X. "I am so proud to be your Democratic nominee for US Senate. Let's win in November".

Both El-Sayed and Stevens - the latter of whom reportedly received tens of millions in backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and affiliated groups - have moved quickly to champion party unity since the result was announced.

"I love Michigan and am so proud to have put up my hand to serve," Stevens wrote in a post on social media, adding that she had spoken with El-Sayed and had vowed to offer her "full support as we work to defeat Mike Rogers this November."

In response, El-Sayed thanked Stevens for running and said he looked forward to "uniting this fall."

"Because what unites us is so much bigger than what divides us," he added.

During his campaign, El-Sayed, who trained as a doctor before working in public health, focused on affordability and healthcare, pledging "Medicare for All" and saying he would work to "get money out of politics" and "put money in your pocket."

His campaign website says he is running for the US Senate as he believes "life in America shouldn’t be this hard."

"As your Senator, Abdul will fight to build a government that works for you, not Elon Musk, Donald Trump, or their billionaire friends," it added.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the result "great news for the Republican Party" while labelling El-Sayed as "a communist loser who hates Jews and Israel."