Senate Democrats are rallying around Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race to beat Republican Mike Rogers as the party scrambles to defend its seat in an effort to win back the Senate majority.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens after a bruising primary that exposed the party’s progressive-moderate divide, leaving Democrats with the task of unifying behind him ahead of one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a progressive who endorsed El-Sayed, told Fox News Digital Friday that he believes El-Sayed will beat Rogers in November.
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Several Democratic senators approached by Fox News Digital expressed confidence in El-Sayed, even after prominent Democrats chose to back Stevens during the primary over questions of whether El-Sayed could win in November.
"I am very confident we’re going to win in Michigan," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.
But the same senators weren’t as quick to defend or back some of his more radical policies — like calling for defunding the police, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Medicare for all and his strong opposition to Israel.
"You can ask him," Murray said after Fox News Digital followed up by asking for her views on his more extreme policies.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., also said she thinks El-Sayed will beat Rogers, but when Fox News Digital asked about her views on his policies, she walked away saying she was "looking for the ladies room."
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said "time will tell" when asked if he could beat Rogers in the general election. He was the only lawmaker to tell Fox News Digital he actually disagreed with some of El-Sayed’s progressive policies.
"He's got 90 days," Warner said. "He brought a lot of energy. There are obviously places I don't fully agree with him either."
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Many lawmakers and candidates with socialist views have argued that the success of like-minded candidates in primaries reflects voters’ growing disconnect with the Democratic establishment.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., defended El-Sayed by pointing to his medical background as an epidemiologist and former Wayne County health director, arguing that experience is needed in the upper chamber amid concerns over healthcare.
"I am going to be working very hard to get a Democratic majority in the United States Senate," Baldwin told Fox News Digital.
She continued, "To have a doctor at a time when healthcare and the cost of healthcare is top of mind — that would be a voice that's very much appreciated."
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Sen. Deb Fisher, R-Neb., warned "regular Democrats" that the radicalization of the party and leaving behind more mainstream Democratic principles will lead them to a party they no longer connect with.
"I think it just shows how crazy Democrats are becoming," Fischer said. "Regular Democrats who are working people, who are worried about their families… worried about making ends meet, they want to own their own businesses… create that… that's an American dream."
"They're going to realize that what they're watching that party morph into isn't them anymore."
