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DETROIT, MI – The high-stakes fight between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the Democratic Party is front-and-center on Tuesday in Michigan’s primary.
Boosted by a string of victories this spring in mostly blue congressional districts across the country, the Democrats’ ideological war moves to the Great Lakes battleground state, where progressive victories could reshape the party and endanger must-hold seats in the midterm elections.
Also at stake as Michigan joins Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington State in holding mid-summer primaries is President Donald Trump’s immense clout over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nominating contests.
But taking top billing is Michigan’s divisive and expensive Democratic Senate primary, which is seen as the biggest stage to date in the fierce fight for the future of the Democratic Party.
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“This is ground zero in the battle for the future of the Democratic Party pitting status quo corporate Democrats against shake up the system economic fighters, and we’ll see who wins,” Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a leading group on the left, told Fox News Digital.
The primary face-off pits Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County Health Department director, against Rep. Haley Stevens, a more moderate candidate backed by the establishment. The race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is backing Stevens, is a must-hold for the Democrats and one of roughly a dozen Senate races from coast to coast that will determine if Republicans hold onto their slim Senate majority.
Matt Bennett, one of the leaders at the Third Way, a leading center-left Democratic organization, told Fox News Digital the Michigan showdown is “the first time the left is competing for a swing seat” and warned, “the significance is it could really put this seat in jeopardy.”
El-Sayed, who, if elected, would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator, is an epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018. He has made support for “Medicare-for-all” a major component of his campaign.
The far-left candidate has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and is a vocal critic of Israel amid its war with Hamas — even characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” against Palestinians.
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And El-Sayed, who is backed by top far-left leaders and teamed with progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on the Michigan campaign trail two weeks ago, and who served as a top surrogate on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, has vowed not to accept PAC donations.
Stevens, who flipped a GOP-held district in her 2018 election to Congress, is backed by top national and Michigan Democrats, including Peters, term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.
Schumer and the party establishment view Stevens as more electable than El-Sayed, who has sparked controversy with his past comments.
“I am the best Democrat to go forward. I am the only person in this race who has won tough primaries multiple times. You know, running with the Michigan grit, resilience and determination,” Stevens told Fox News Digital on Sunday, as she teamed up with Peters on the campaign trail.
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Rep. Shri Thanedar, who is supported by top House Democratic leaders, is being challenged by state Rep. Donovan McKinney, who is backed by Sanders, El-Sayed, and Squad members Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.
And the ideological warfare is also front-and-center in Missouri, in the state’s St. Louis-based and heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District.
Rep. Wesley Bell is facing off in a rematch against former Rep. Cori Bush, a Squad member who Bell ousted in the 2024 primary.
TK (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Trump’s endorsements are getting tested in two statewide showdowns on Tuesday, in Michigan and Kansas.
The president is backing Rep. John James in Michigan’s GOP gubernatorial primary. James, a West Point graduate and one-time Republican rising star, is facing off against multi-millionaire businessman Perry Johnson, a former gubernatorial and presidential candidate.
The winner will take on likely Democratic nominee and current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, in the race to succeed Whitmer.
In Kansas, Trump is supporting state Senate President Ty Masterson in a crowded field of Republican gubernatorial contenders.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, which makes the race to succeed her a top flip opportunity for the GOP.
In Washington State, the marquee primary showdown is in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a former auto shop co-owner, is facing a crowded field of challengers from both parties.
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Washington state has a top-two primary system in which all candidates, regardless of party, compete on the same ballot and the two highest vote-getters move on to the general election.
The race is another crucial House showdown that may decide the chamber’s majority.
In Virginia, voters head to the polls to cast ballots in Senate primaries and in a handful of House primaries in extremely competitive districts that may impact the balance of power on Capitol Hill.