Hottest Senate battleground race in the nation explodes as fierce Israel critic is on the cusp of sweeping victory

By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 15:00, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 15:02, 3 August 2026 The Democratic primary for US Senate in Michigan between two candidates representing opposite factions of their party is reaching a fever pitch ahead of Tuesday's primary. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed are locked in a bitter battle, but El-Sayed is riding a burst of positive polling that shows the insurgent progressive on the cusp of a seismic win.  An El-Sayed victory would send ripples through the party, given that the Republican nominee Mike Rogers was caught on tape saying he would be 'in good shape' in a general election against El-Sayed. Stevens is a current member of the US House of Representatives, and El-Sayed has served as the health director for Detroit, as well as Wayne County. A batch of recent polling showed El-Sayed leading Stevens by double-digit margins.  Stevens had been riding a wave of endorsements from state and national leaders and earlier polling showing her leaping ahead of El-Sayed. But recently she's been lashing out, saying El-Sayed blames Jewish Americans for his problems. 'You will lose to Mike Rogers by talking like this,' Stevens said Thursday, in response to El-Sayed daring AIPAC to 'come for me.' Abdul El-Sayed has pulled ahead according to the latest polling in the Democratic Primary for the US Senate in Michigan Haley Stevens, a member of the US House of Representatives, has gotten the backing of state and local mainstream Democrats  AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has featured prominently in the primary, with some estimates that its political action committee has dispensed more than $30 million against El-Sayed and for Stevens.  It's AIPAC's largest single-race spend in history. Many Republicans are champing at the bit to run against El-Sayed, who enjoys the backing of the nation's most progressive luminaries, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  El-Sayed and Stevens have clashed over their support of Israel. He has called Israel a 'rogue state,' while Stevens is suffering from Democrats' increasing aversion to AIPAC and her unwavering support for Israel. In the past, El-Sayed pledged to 'stand up to greedy landlords and corporate profiteers.'  He has also advocated for 'Medicare for All' policies, despite his wife only taking out-of-pocket payments at her psychiatric practice. The Michigan Senate seat is rated a 'toss-up' by the Cook Political Report, and the contest is for an open seat after incumbent Democrat Gary Peters chose not to run again.  Peters backed Stevens in the primary earlier this week as did Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has seen her popularity among Democrats slide this year. El-Sayed has said his victory would help him influence the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.  The stakes stretch well beyond Tuesday.  Nine days before Michigan Democrats go to the polls, the Democratic National Committee's rules panel voted to hand the state one of just six coveted slots in the early window of the 2028 presidential nominating calendar.  That means the winner of this bruising primary will carry a megaphone in a state that votes before Super Tuesday on March 7, 2028.