How Abdul El-Sayed’s ‘extraordinary’ win stunned pro-Israel establishment
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x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info Abdul El-Sayed, winner of the Michigan Democratic primary for the US Senate, speaks during a news conference in Detroit on August 5 [Rebecca Cook/Reuters] By Ali Harb Published On 6 Aug 2026 6 Aug 2026 Detroit, Michigan – The sighs in the audience were audible as United States Congresswoman Haley Stevens closed in on Abdul El-Sayed’s lead in the Michigan Democratic primary for the US Senate.
Adding to this, El-Sayed, a public health advocate, took the stage after midnight as uncertainty had dampened the once-celebratory mood among supporters in Detroit early on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, “I wish I could tell you that I was declaring victory right about now. It turns out it takes a long time to count some votes in Michigan. It’s a big state,” he joked.
Notably, The progressive candidate went on to remind the crowd of what his campaign was up against: tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other special-interest groups.
As per the latest buzz, “I want you to remind them that if we come through this, when we come through this, inshallah [God willing]”, he shared, “that we’ll have taken $70m on the chin and kept fighting back.”
In further updates, Stevens, a four-term congresswoman, continued to shrink El-Sayed’s lead as the votes came in, bringing the margin between them down to less than 1 percent.
On top of that, The final results arrived later on Wednesday morning, long after the sun had risen on a new day. El-Sayed had won by a razor-thin margin.
He had fended off not just Stevens but also the pro-Israel groups and Democratic power brokers in Michigan, including top officials from the party, like Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who had endorsed his opponent.
Source: Al Jazeera