The race for the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat between former health director Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham has been hard-fought, caustic and expensive, drawing national attention and swamping Michigan airwaves with campaign attacks and advertisements.
And it’s about to conclude after polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4 and the counting gets underway to determine whether El-Sayed, a progressive firebrand, or Stevens, the experienced centrist, takes on Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake (who was unopposed in his primary) in a November general election that could help decide which party controls the chamber.
Voting in Michigan, by absentee ballot and by early in-person voting, has been underway for some weeks, and we went out to talk to Democratic primary voters to hear who they were supporting in this vitriolic race and why:
‘About the policies he wants to implement’
Jay Joseph, 22, of East Lansing, who is studying medical billing and coding at Lansing Community College, voted by absentee ballot for El-Sayed, saying, “People have been wanting some more progressive politics from the Democrats for a long time, so I’m really proud to vote progressively this time around. I hope everybody else does.”
Joseph also said that she’s more impressed with El-Sayed’s campaign ads, saying they seem more “about the policies he wants to implement. ” Stevens’ ads, Joseph said, “are just attacks on someone else, and I haven’t heard much about her own policies.”
— Paul Egan
‘Obama backed her up’
Esther Doyle, 63, of Detroit, said a few days before the election she had voted for Stevens. “She’s been around awhile, and (former President Barack) Obama backed her up,” she said. When a Free Press reporter noted that, despite Stevens’ working as a member of his auto rescue team in 2009-10 (and TV ads which may suggest otherwise), Obama hasn’t endorsed anyone in this race, Doyle said, “Not yet.”
Doyle contrasted Stevens’ experience with El-Sayed’s emergence on the political scene. “Just out the blue. I never heard of him ever before,” she said. “I never knew anything about him period until he just showed up on my TV.”
— Clara Hendrickson
‘He doesn’t take AIPAC money’
Marianne Krist, 65 of Detroit, said she voted for El-Sayed. “He doesn’t take AIPAC money,” she said, referring to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israeli lobbying group that has, through another organization, spent tens of millions supporting Stevens and attacking El-Sayed. “He’s progressive and that’s about it,” she said.
“Nothing against her but it’s time for progressive changes, you know?” Krist said. She said she would back Stevens if she wins the nomination but she’s not swayed by Stevens’ argument she may be more electable than El-Sayed in the November general election. “That’s not enough reason for me to vote for her, and honestly I think the momentum is on El-Sayed’s side at this point.”
— Clara Hendrickson
‘I’m with Haley’
Josephine Purnell-Parker, 56, of Sterling Heights, is a centrist Democrat who opposes government-run healthcare (which El-Sayed supports). She also said El-Sayed and others who supported the Uncommitted movement to send a signal to then-President Biden’s administration about their opposition to U.S. aid to Israel helped elect Republicans to Congress and the White House in 2024. (El-Sayed, while supporting the Uncommitted movement in the primary season, fully supported Vice President Kamala Harris when Biden stepped down and she became the Democratic nominee.)
“I’m with Haley,” she said. “But if El-Sayed wins, I’m not going to vote uncommitted because that’s hurting myself. They need to think about that. When you try to divide us, you’re hurting all of us. We need to be united.”
— Tristan McFolley
‘They got money to throw away on a stupid war’
Sean Morris, 63 of Sterling Heights, said he voted for El-Sayed because of the candidate’s support for a government-run healthcare plan that would cover all Americans, also known as Medicare for All. “We need healthcare for one thing,” Morris said. “My insurance got yanked, and from what I keep hearing from my relatives, it’s going to be a mountain of paperwork just to move to Canada.”
Morris believes El-Sayed’s platform is a marked change from the status quo. “They got money to throw away on a stupid war (referring to the Trump administration’s war with Iran) and yet they can’t afford to feed people or afford healthcare (for everyone).”
— Tristan McFolley
‘Well, I don’t know him’
Myra Jefferson-King, 73 of Detroit, said she voted for Stevens in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. She traced her reasoning for supporting Stevens to the fact that Jefferson-King had campaigned for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the past and Whitmer endorsed Stevens in the Senate race.
But she didn’t describe her vote as an anti-El-Sayed vote. “Well, I don’t know him,” she said.
— Clara Hendrickson
‘This has been a super nasty race’
Jason Wade, 52, of Bloomfield Township, cast his vote early for El-Sayed. “The economy isn’t working for working people and he has a vision for that,” said Wade, who works for the United Auto Workers (which has endorsed El-Sayed).
Wade is confident El-Sayed will win both the primary and general elections but has concerns about the lingering effects of an acrimonious primary season for Democrats. “I think this has been a super nasty race,” he said. “I think it’s off-putting to most Michiganders how much money has come in from out of state, and hopefully this is seen as a warning for November and (the presidential election in ) ’28. We can make our own decisions.”
— Emily Lawler
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on X @tsspangler. Staff writers Paul Egan, Clara Hendrickson, Emily Lawler and Tristan McFolley compiled the interviews for this story.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What’s on voters’ minds as hard-fought Democratic US Senate primary approaches
Reporting by Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
