“When you launch a campaign and you’re trying to get money out of politics,” he told The Metro, “that invites record amounts of spending against you.”
More than $60 million in outside money went into last week’s Michigan Senate primary, most of it aimed at stopping him. The largest single source was AIPAC, whose super PAC spent about $30 million backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens — the most the pro-Israel group has ever put into a congressional primary.
El-Sayed won by fewer than 15,000 votes.
He ran health departments in Detroit and Wayne County, and he now faces Republican Mike Rogers for a seat that could decide control of the Senate. If he wins, he would be the first Muslim to serve there.
He sat down with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent — in the same studio where he announced his run in April of last year.
The money that defined the race
El Sayed came back to the spending repeatedly, including when asked why he lost Detroit. “Ask yourself, if there was no outside spending in this campaign, where do we think votes would have gone?”
He won’t stop saying genocide
Did calling the war in Gaza a genocide drown out his message on health care? He said it isn’t a trade he’ll make: “The job’s not worth it. The work is worth it.”
To Jewish voters who hear his criticism of Israel as criticism of them: “Judaism and the Jewish people are a light unto the world. But Judaism and the Jewish people are different than AIPAC and the Israeli government.”
Black Democrats and the ‘uncommitted’ vote
Many Black Democrats in Michigan blame the 2024 “uncommitted” protest vote, which El-Sayed backed, for costing Kamala Harris the state. Keith Williams, who chairs the state party’s Black Caucus, endorsed Stevens and said El-Sayed was with uncommitted only when it suited him.
“Convenience would have been to say nothing and stay quiet,” El-Sayed said. He noted that Harris endorsed him Friday. “I don’t think she thinks I’m the reason that she lost.”
On mistrust between Black and Arab Detroit, he said Arab and Muslim Michiganders can’t object to anti-Arab racism while tolerating racism toward Black Detroiters. “Standing up against racism is about principle. It’s not about tribalism.”
Data centers and health care
El-Sayed said what he’d write into federal law on data centers, after campaigning against the Oracle and OpenAI project in Saline Township: protections for local water, no utility rate increases, guaranteed union jobs, and money held in escrow before construction begins.
On Medicare for All, he acknowledged a freshman senator can’t deliver it alone. “You can’t get it all in one shot. But politics, as all of us know, doesn’t just move linearly.”
The Metro has invited Republican candidate Mike Rogers on the program several times and has not heard back.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
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DETROIT (AP) — Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan’s Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a massive victory for the party’s progressive wing in a battleground state.
The real test of El-Sayed’s and progressives’ strength will now come in a November matchup against Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination. The seat is pivotal to Democrats’ chances of flipping the Senate and El-Sayed will face the challenge of uniting a divided Democratic base after a bruising primary.
The race remained tight throughout Tuesday night, with a winner not declared until early Wednesday. In his final remarks at a primary night party before the race was called, El-Sayed said “tomorrow we begin to mend fences.”
El-Sayed’s campaign said Stevens called to concede Wednesday.
El-Sayed’s win represents a significant shift for the Democratic Party; in 2018 he lost the gubernatorial primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by 21 percentage points.
El-Sayed, a former health official, campaigned on “Medicare for All,” halting military aid to Israel and campaign finance reform. He had support from progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who framed the race as a grassroots-focused movement and a broader fight against the establishment and big-money spending.
Stevens, a more moderate candidate, was backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and tens of millions in outside spending, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s largest outlay ever in a single race.
Now comes the more difficult challenge for Democrats: uniting the party to defeat Rogers, for whom Republicans have already reserved large sums of money ahead of the general election. Democrats consider the seat a must-win if they are to flip control of the Senate this year.
El-Sayed called for unity to defeat Rogers
Early Tuesday evening, El-Sayed’s supporters in Detroit’s Majestic Theatre cheered at the first batches of votes, before mellowing. Hours later Stevens’ previously subdued partygoers roared as she narrowed the margin.
“Whatever happens tonight,” El-Sayed told a thinned but still energetic crowd, “we have a responsibility to ensure that we unite, unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate.”
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, campaigned on “Medicare for All,” campaign finance reform and ending military aid to Israel.
Stevens, a four-term congresswoman, focused on manufacturing and the economy. She stressed her past victories in tough races, saying she would be best positioned to beat Rogers.
Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a race ever from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.
Michigan is a must-win Senate race for Democrats
The race will help decide which party controls the chamber in the last two years of President Donald Trump’s term. Those stakes have added heat to the rivalry, with moderates arguing that El-Sayed would have a harder time than Stevens against a Republican in the general election.
Stevens won election to Congress in 2018 after serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, which helped oversee the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Her campaign and allied groups have repeatedly highlighted that experience.
El-Sayed cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate and argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda.
While the candidate has said he is not a democratic socialist, he found support from some of the group’s members. That included Melat Kiros, who recently beat a longtime incumbent in a Democratic primary for a Denver-based House seat and was at El-Sayed’s watch party. Also there was Hasan Piker, a progressive and controversial influencer online.
The candidates’ differences were clear to some voters.
Kenneth Woodside, 87, of West Bloomfield, said he voted for El-Sayed over Stevens because “the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism.”
Nessa Fuller, 51, of Birmingham, said she voted for Stevens because she will “fight to get the right things done, and she’ll work with other people, which is really important to me.”
Outside influences spent millions on the Senate race
National groups poured unprecedented sums into the race, making it one of the country’s biggest tests of outside spending.
Groups backing Stevens spent more than $50 million, led by more than $30 million from AIPAC and its affiliates.
The spending thrust Israel policy into the center of the race even though the ads never mentioned it. While El-Sayed called for ending military aid to Israel, Stevens maintained strong support for the relationship.
Israel became a contentious issue within the Democratic Party amid a war in Gaza that killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive after about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in attacks by the militant group Hamas.
A Detroit US House primary also too early to call
In a heavily Democratic district representing Detroit, the 13th, Rep. Shri Thanedar looked to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who argued that the city should once again have a Black representative in Congress.
After Thanedar won election in 2022, Detroit had no Black representation in Congress for the first time since the early 1950s.
This year’s primaries feature some competitive races that will mark battle lines come November and may even point to national trends.
This week on MichMash, WDET’S Cheyna Roth, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss some of the key things to look out for in Tuesday’s elections. They are joined by Gongwer reporters Nick Smith and Lily Guiney.
What do the polls say about who will win their party’s nominees.
Here are some key moments the MichMash team is watching for on the Aug. 4 Michigan primary elections:
Tuesday may be a referendum of where Michigan Democratic voters are leaning towards. The results of races for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate will tell us if progressives or established Democrats are the voice of the Michigan Democratic party.
What will the national implications be and how much interest will Michigan draw after the results? The fight for U.S. Senate and House is tight, making a purple state like Michigan a key factor in determining who has control of Congress.
Which party is more motivated? Voter turnout varies based factors like who is on the ballot. Tuesday’s results will tell us more about the upcoming midterm elections.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate Primary is one of the most closely watched and deeply debated in the country.
With less than two weeks to go before election day, Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed have gained supporters from across the state.
Retired General Motors worker Theresa Landrum backs Stevens and her “fight” for the US Senate seat.
“We need a fighter like that to fight tooth and nail for the people that are going to be harmed by this current administration,” Landrum said.
El-Sayed supporter Andrew Lyon of Ferndale was originally set to support State Senator Mallory McMorrow’s bid, but a friend offered other options.
“My friend was like, ‘Oh no, you gotta check out Abdul.’ And then I looked him up. I think it was on TikTok,” Lyon said. “(I) started following him, and then instantly (switched). What he wants to fight for is exactly what I believe in.”
What are they fighting for?
Stevens has promised to push back on the Trump Administration and the president himself.
“I’m just fired up to be out here putting my hand up for Michigan in this serious moment,” Stevens said. “It’s no joke what is going on, with Donald Trump stealing from people, illegal impoundments of funds, going after voting rights.”
El-Sayed says he has no love for the president, but he’s fighting against the Democratic Party’s centrist establishment too.
“I’m not dangerous if you’re someone who needs government to work for you. But if you’re Chuck Schumer, damn right I’m dangerous,” El-Sayed said. “If you are someone who wants to stand in the way of government working for people, I am dangerous.”
According to Adam Carlson, founding partner of Zenith Research, only 47% of democrats have a favorable opinion of Schumer. He was commissioned to do a poll for the pro-El-Sayed veterans group Common Defense.
It’s not like Democrats couldn’t see this coming. One of the first things that Mallory McMorrow did when she announced her run for Senate in 2025 was call for Schumer’s removal as Senate Minority Leader.
In New York and Colorado, progressive candidates have primaried centrist incumbents and won. The big question is whether wins in deep blue districts can be replicated in purple states like Michigan.
Carlson said the rage against the Democratic political machine leaves voters open to a left-wing populist.
“I’ve never seen in my 13 years doing this voters so angry, frustrated with like conventional wisdom, and being told who is electable, and just inflation, cost of living, and all that. Just much more responsive to populism, more than a left-right divide,” Carlson said.
Stevens – who has been supported by Schumer from the beginning of her run – doesn’t see this race as a referendum on Democratic Party leadership.
“There are some people who are running who assume that’s what this race is all about, and I don’t think that’s fair to the people of Michigan,” Stevens said. “I believe that this race is about the future of Michigan and our workforce, and who’s going to get points on the scoreboard for organized labor.”
What do voters want in their candidates?
A recent poll by the Michigan-based Glengariff Group showed that the top two things voters want out of a Democratic senate candidate are “fighters” and someone who is “electable.”
For Stevens supporters, electability is all about the general.
Retired U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and retiring Senator Gary Peters both believe Stevens can beat Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Peters thinks Stevens will be able to face down a ton of money from Republicans in the general.
“That’s why you have to have someone who has a proven track record of actually winning tough races. And that’s Haley Stevens,” Peters said. “She’s won tough races. She’s had that kind of money spent against her from outside forces. She’s an independent voice who stands up for Michigan folks.”
But in this primary, those outside forces are on her side.
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke at a recent El-Sayed campaign event in Detroit about how he views this race.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders during a rally in Detroit on July 18 2026.
“With all due respect to Congresswoman Stevens, everyone knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul El-Sayed,” Sanders said. “This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class.”
Stevens doesn’t care for that characterization, but seems to agree that getting money out of politics is a good thing.
“The thing is, is that we have to pass the laws to stop dark money. It is not about whether I say it or not as a point of altruism. This is actually about changing our laws,” Stevens said.
With nearly $70 million spent so far, MIRS news is reporting that this is the second most expensive Democratic Senate primary ever, with a chance to supplant the 2024 Democratic primary in California.
But it’s not just the money, it’s where it is coming from. El-Sayed is running the stronger grassroots campaign, taking money and ground game support from unions and related PACs totaling $850,000.
He’s consistently been in the top 5 fundraisers on the Democratic fundraising platform Act Blue, a site that specializes in small dollar donations. Last quarter, El-Sayed outgained Stevens $4.5 million to $2 million in grassroots support and drew $65,000 more in individual donations than Stevens.
More than $50 million has been spent on Stevens, largely in the form of TV and streaming ads. If you’ve turned on something with a screen in the past month, you’ve likely seen one.
Since her first run for Congress in 2018, Stevens’ ties to the Obama-era auto bailout have been a center point of her campaign – though she’s never earned the endorsement of the United Auto Workers.
What are the demographics of voters?
Micqoua Franklin was one of the many that chatted with Stevens at a Juneteenth event in Detroit, and she said that as a Black voter, Stevens is “for us.”
“Obama had her. That’s Obama girl. Obama girl is my girl. I know she’s gonna do right by us,” Franklin said.
Polling backs up at sentiment too, with Stevens often having a 2 to 1 advantage among Black voters. However, President Obama has not made an endorsement in this race.
At the rally in Detroit that featured Senator Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the demographics of the largely white crowd didn’t match up with that of America’s largest majority-Black city. El-Sayed, who was the health department director for the city and the county writ-large, said he’s put in the work.
Supporters of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed watch as Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks to the crowd in Detroit on July 18, 2026
“I’ve chosen to work in communities like Detroit and Wayne County, majority Black communities, to take on inequities my whole career. People are going to say what they say,” El-Sayed said. “My job is just to focus on defending the folks that I’ve been defending since I got into public service and let my work speak for itself.”
There’s also the matter of the 2024 presidential election where many in the Black community felt betrayed by the Muslim and Arab American communities, resulting in a lingering resentment being heaped upon El-Sayed.
Detroit political fixer Adoplh Mongo is one voter who echoes this sentiment.
“He didn’t support Kamala Harris when she ran for president,” Mongo said. “He was like vote for none of the above that that sort of thing, and then when he did come to support, it was half-ass support.”
However, El-Sayed did endorse Vice President Harris soon after she became the presumptive nominee. Fair or not, it’s a common perception among Black voters and politicos.
Mongo is not a fan of Stevens either… citing her ‘yes’ vote for a resolution honoring slain conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk. Even so, Mongo says Black voters will likely support whomever in the general election.
“Democrats, they the most unloyal people in the world in Detroit. And you know we love them—I’m saying Black folks—when they don’t even love us,” Mongo said.
Campaign ads and Middle Eastern conflict
A Stronger Michigan is one of the dark money groups putting up millions in ads for Stevens. There’s also UDP, or the United Democracy Project. Sounds bland enough, but it’s a front for AIPAC – the American Israel Political Affairs Committee.
Stevens is not Jewish but is an advocate for Israel.
“I will continue to fight for the people of Israel. I will continue to fight for Israel’s existence,” Stevens said. “Israel comes to me in my dreams. I see Israel’s future. And I know that Israel will continue to exist for the Jewish people!”
Congresswoman Haley Stevens speaks to reporters in Farmington, Mich. on July 17, 2026.
Four years ago, when redistricting had Stevens and former Congressman Andy Levin – who is Jewish – battling it out in a primary, AIPAC kicked in millions to help Stevens win.
This time, AIPAC is helping to defeat El-Sayed, a Muslim.
AIPAC wants to keep American money and weapons flowing to Israel. American taxpayer support of Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon has become a political flashpoint.
Last year, the United Nations and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have released reports classifying Israel’s attacks in Gaza as genocide.
El-Sayed—and many of his supporters— believe that too.
Robert Baker, a voter from Westland, considers this issue to be “right at the top of” his list.
“For the last three years, we’ve been seeing nonstop destruction in Gaza. We’ve seen what it was and what it is now, and all the people that are dead, all the people missing, and all the war crimes that are being recorded by IDF soldiers and published,” Baker said. “I feel like Abdul is someone that is going to take charge to make sure that this kind of stuff stops happening in our politics, and that our politics stops getting sold out to AIPAC and other big corporation PACs.”
When Mongo talks about feeling betrayed by Muslim and Arab American voters who did not lend their support to Kamala Harris, US foreign policy toward Israel was the reason. Harris refused to distance herself from President Biden’s position, and it cost her politically.
In a general election, her Pro-Israel stance could cost Stevens too. Data from Carlson’s poll seems to suggest it could have an impact.
“31% of very progressive and liberal voters hold a strongly unfavorable view of Haley Stevens,” Carlson said. “26% of very progressive liberal voters say they’re undecided if Stevens is nominee against Mike Rogers.”
El-Sayed knows he has an uphill battle when it comes to electability and likeability because of his faith. The Michigan Republican Party has already taken to referring to him by his full name: Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. It’s a scaremongering tactic and why everyone know President Obama’s middle name is Hussein.
El-Sayed brushes off things like that because getting angry about it gives them what they want.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks to rallygoers at an informational picket for public defenders in Detroit on June 17, 2026
“I’ve been Abdul my whole life,” El-Sayed said. “I was Abdul when I got voted captain on my high school football team and wrestling team and lacrosse team by people who weren’t named Abdul, who didn’t have names like mine. The reason they supported me is because my whole life I’ve been explaining myself, and so you get pretty good at explaining yourself, and I’ve learned that when people get past the name, they’re a lot more interested in what you have to say.”
Who will win on August 4?
Stevens is less reliant on charm and more reliant on millions being pumped into TV and streaming ads. Her canvassing efforts have been lacking.
El-Sayed has over 10,000 campaign volunteers. His lawn signs are everywhere – not just in Metro Detroit but outstate as well. Recent rallies drew thousands in a way Stevens has been unable to replicate. But lawn signs don’t vote, and rallies are often packed with volunteers.
Will El-Sayed prove that charisma and lefty populist politics can be palatable in a purple state?
Can Stevens get by on her stay-the-course center left politics and campaign ad ubiquity?
Michigan’s primary election is August 4.
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Outgoing US Senator Gary Peters is endorsing Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for US Senate.
Peters described Stevens as an “outstanding” candidate who will hit the ground running on day one. He talked about working with Stevens during the Obama administration and how he thinks that experience gives her a leg up over her opponent, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.
“We want someone who can come in that doesn’t have a learning curve,” Peters said. “Someone who’s going to immediately represent the people of Michigan and fight for their interest. She’s Michigan through and through.”
Peters changed his mind on endorsement
Peters said he wanted to stay out of endorsing in the Democratic primary until he realized how Michigan’s elections will impact the entire country. He said he sees “chaos” in the Trump administration, with inflated prices making it harder for Michiganders to buy gas and groceries.
“It’s absolutely essential that a Democrat wins in Michigan. We need to have a check and balance with the administration,” Peters said.
Peters denied his sudden endorsement meant the Stevens campaign was “panicked” as alleged by the Michigan Republican Party.
“That should be very telling when Republicans are making that comment. I guess they want the other candidate to win.”
El-Sayed has largely been leading in the polls since the beginning of May.
Representing Michigan
Peters described Michiganders as “practical, common-sense folks” who just want to get things done. To Peters, out-of-state endorsements for El-Sayed don’t reflect the needs of Michigan.
“To me, this race is about Michigan,” Peters said. “It’s not about who’s attracting a national audience or who’s on national TV. It’s about who’s actually delivering for the people of Michigan.”
Peters says there would be big spending for Republicans in their primary if Mike Rogers had a serious challenger.
“Whoever wins the primary, part of that $45 million of Republican money is going to go after that person with everything they’ve got, and that’s why you have to have someone who has a proven track record of actually winning tough races,” Peters said.
What people should be focusing on instead of money, according to Peters, are the messages from each Democratic candidate.
On the Republican side, Peters said that Mike Rogers will serve as a “rubber stamp” for the Trump administration instead of serving the needs of Michigan.
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Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign for U.S. Senate three days after earning an endorsement from the Detroit Free Press.
Nancy Kaffer, the editorial page editor of the Freep, said they will not be endorsing another candidate in this race.
“We said what we said, and we just have to sit with it,” Kaffer said.
Now that only Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed remain, Kaffer said it seems likely that former McMorrow voters will split between the candidates and that neither of them will “clean up.”
“If you valued prior elected experience as a McMorrow voter, you might gravitate to Stevens,” Kaffer said. “If you prized pushback against the status quo and a more ambitious agenda around health care or a more firm stance against Israel, you might gravitate to El-Sayed.”
The future of the Democratic primary
Kaffer said that although she has been covering Michigan politics for 26 years, she is unsure about what will happen next.
One thing that muddies the waters, she said, is unreliable polling.
“We’re seeing polls come out from outlets that I’ve never heard of that don’t operate in this state,” Kaffer said.
When she is wary of an unfamiliar poll, Kaffer said she always looks at their methodology. One form of polling Kaffer avoids is those conducted via text, which can be skewed by simply sharing the link to others.
“People are creating narratives based on some really questionable polling, and that’s unfortunate because a big part of campaigning is narrative, and sometimes people are winning because they seem to be winning,” Kaffer said.
Kaffer described Michigan as a “fascinating” and “complex” state and warned against anyone who says they have all the answers.
“This whole thing is really a test case, and anyone who says that they know what’s happening here, they are selling you something,” Kaffer said.
One concern Kaffer said she sees is the growing divide in the Democratic party. She described it as “risky” for the Democratic primary nominees to make strong accusations against one another because they will end up alienating themselves from the other side of their own party.
Although Kaffer is uncertain about the outcome of this race, she has a prediction about its general direction.
“I think it’s going to get even weirder,” Kaffer said.
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Come November, thousands of political seats are up for grabs.
One of the most compelling races in Michigan is the Senate. That’s in part because of what it says about the Democratic Party, especially after Mallory McMorrow dropped out.
Most polls have Abdul El-Sayed leading in the race, but there is still uncertainty as to whether he can defeat Haley Stevens, a sitting congresswoman who gained notoriety for her moderation, and for bailing out the auto industry.
Dennis Darnoi is the founder of Densar Consulting, based in Farmington. He says many voters want candidates that have an anti-institutional and populist bent.
“Progressive candidates are running against these establishment candidates and they’re being more successful because the Democratic base is really looking for two things: They’re looking for people who are going to fight and they’re looking for people who are anti-system.”
Darnoi spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about the Senate race and how it reflects changes to politics in Michigan and beyond.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.
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Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow has suspended her campaign for US Senate.
In a video announcing her decision, McMorrow highlighted some of her and her colleague’s accomplishments in the Michigan legislature.
“We repealed Michigan’s abortion ban. We raised wages. We made sure every child gets breakfast and lunch at school. We made it easier to go to college. We expanded civil rights, voting rights, and so, so much more,” McMorrow said.
While McMorrow was not forthcoming her reasons for suspending her campaign, funding might have been an issue.
Corporate PACs have spent heavily on Congresswoman Haley Stevens, with millions of dollars in ad-buys before McMorrow ever aired her first commercial. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is running a campaign to the left of McMorrow and has also abstained from taking corporate PAC money.
Even though McMorrow is leaving the race, she said she will not leave the “fight.”
“So, here’s what we do next,” McMorrow said. “Every day through November 3, we win this Senate seat, and we send Mike Rogers back to Florida for good. Whoever wins this primary on August 4 will have my full support.”
Reactions from both sides
Stevens said she looks forward to working with McMorrow in the future, while also making her case as the strongest candidate to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.
“Anyone who raises their hand to serve the people of Michigan and puts forward thoughtful ideas for how they would lead earns my respect,” Stevens wrote.
On the same day of McMorrow’s announcement, Stevens earned an endorsement from Attorney General Dana Nessel.
El-Sayed said people who are unhappy with corporate money in politics should consider his campaign.
“The reality of it is that $30 million of AIPAC spending that came in to drown out Senator McMorrow’s voice, that’s coming in an even uglier way against me,” El-Sayed said. “So I’m hoping that folks who supported Senator McMorrow wants to make sure that we have a voice in our politics.”
The Michigan Republican Party called both Stevens and El-Sayed “Marxist radicals,” asserting that Rogers will hold the future primary winner “accountable” for “turning their backs on Michigan’s families.”
What happens next?
Stevens and El-Sayed will face each other in a debate at Grand Rapids on Tuesday.
Mail-in ballots were already delivered, meaning McMorrow’s name still appears. People who have already voted and wish to spoil their ballot may do so at their local clerk’s office.
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The democratic primary in the race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat is one of the most-watched – and most-expensive – in the country. If Democrats want to retake control of the Senate, they must win Michigan.
A recent Zenith Research poll looked at each candidate’s viability in the general election.
Pollster Adam Carlson says his survey, which was commissioned by the pro-El-Sayed veterans group Common Defense, found that all democrats led GOP candidate Mike Rogers.
However, Carlson said he was surprised that El-Sayed – the most progressive of the trio – was able to buck conventional wisdom and have the largest lead over the republican.
Carlson tells WDET’s Russ McNamara that there were other surprises in his poll
Listen: Zenith Research Poll shows Democratic candidates lead Rogers in general election
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Carlson: A lot of the polling and the conventional wisdom that we’ve seen so far has shown that Abdul El-Sayed faces a penalty in the general election, that he does worse than Haley Stevens and or Mallory McMorrow, and I wanted to get in there myself.
I was approached by a client, to see what was happening under the hood, because I know AIPAC had gotten more involved directly in this race, and in a way that was much more open than a lot of other races around the country. When they were going through shell PACs, they’re much more open about their support for Haley Stevens through their primary super PAC United Democracy Project, and that had been covered extensively by state and local media, as well as some national media, so the timing of it was auspicious. There’s this theory of the case, from progressives and the left, and people backing candidates like Abdul around the country, the traditional definition of electability is more moderate candidates do better in an environment like this. I’ve never seen in my 13 years doing this voters so angry, frustrated with conventional wisdom, and being told who is electable, and inflation, cost of living and all that. Just much more responsive to populism, more than a left-right kind of divide, so I wanted to get in there myself and see what was happening.
And what I found was, if you’re taking a more statistical view of things, Abdul El-Sayed definitely does not face an electoral penalty for being the most progressive candidate in the race. He leads Mike Rogers 45% to 42% with 13% undecided. McMorrow leads Rogers 44% to 42% and Stevens leads him 43% to 42%. So not a huge difference among the three, and certainly not a comfortable lead for any of them.
I think it does dispel some conventional wisdom that Haley Stevens is the most electable candidate, or that Abdul is uniquely unelectable. You just have to look under the hood a little bit to see why, and the thing that struck me the most—and I love when my polls surprise me, means I’m doing something right, they’re kind of dispelling some of my own assumptions—31% of very progressive and liberal voters hold a strongly unfavorable view of Haley Stevens. 26% of very progressive liberal voters say they’re undecided if Stevens is the nominee against Mike Rogers, which is a shockingly large number. And again, this is not a huge portion of the electorate, but it’s enough that El-Sayed does two points better than her in the head to head ballots, so that is the main story here. In open ended responses in the survey, people cited ties to AIPAC, just the general Zionist Israel movement that were causing them either just want to stay home or vote third party, and it makes sense in Michigan, which is kind of the birthplace or the home base of the Uncommitted movement in 2024.
McNamara: That matches up what I’ve been seeing in the voters that I’ve talked to, because there’s still quite a hangover from 2024 and what they saw as general disrespect from the Harris-Walz campaign. Do you get the sense that Michigan is a lone case in this regard, or is this popping up in other areas?
Carlson: I’m doing a lot of polling in deep blue Democratic primary areas, which obviously—this is Michigan. This is the opposite of that. It is the swingiest of swing states, but also in some competitive swing states, like Georgia, what I see is, in Democratic primary electorates, Israel-Gaza is not the number one issue, or even the number two issue. It’s inflation, it’s cost of living.
I’ve never really seen in my career, and even before I started doing this professionally, public opinion shift this quickly among Democrats, at the very least, on Israel and Gaza. It is stark, and I’m not even sure that we’re done yet, to be honest with you. I think there’s more room to move, where you have kind of these more people that were probably right after October 7 tweeting out or posting on Facebook, saying I stand with Israel, who are now just kind of so disgusted with what the Netanyahu government is doing in Israel, and maybe, they’re not quite at Abdul’s position on like a full on arms embargo, pending Israel following international law, but it’s almost becoming a moral barrier to entry, basically being like almost a gut check, are your morals in the right place on this issue, and then if you pass that test, then I’ll look at your other stuff.
Again, this is a general election poll, but in a sense, we’re talking about the primary at the same time, based off of very progressive voters’ views of these candidates, and what we’re seeing, at least in this poll, and I welcome other data points here.
I always caution one poll is one poll, but it’s pretty compelling evidence here, particularly when you dig into the open-ended responses that people are very emotional about this, especially people from Dearborn and Dearborn Heights and Arab and Muslim voters doing this. This is progressive white voters all across the state, too. ‘I’m just going to stay home, or I am undecided,’ and whether they come home to Stevens in the general election is an open question, but I think it presents the conventional wisdom is that Abdul is the risky choice in the general election because he’s more progressive and could turn off kind of swing voters and moderates. That’s not what we found.
We found that, if anything, independents are slightly more negative on Stevens than they are on McMorrow and El-Sayed, and independents aren’t this group that are all super moderate on every single issue. I think that sometimes it’s how they’re framed. They’re pretty ideologically heterodox. ‘Maybe I’m very pro closed borders, but I’m very pro Medicare for all,’ and they don’t necessarily follow a traditional ideological map of like hard partisans, and I think that we’re seeing this response to not just this issue where El-Sayed is very clearly much more pro-Palestinian and critical of aid to Israel than the other two candidates in the race, but kind of a more economic populist message.
What we’re finding is that Haley Stevens might be the more risky general election choice, because people might say, ‘I stay home,’ because this is such a red line for people in Israel and Palestine that people don’t even necessarily want to hear what else she has to say if she can’t get there on this or soften a little bit on this. Stevens is very clearly backed by Schumer and the establishment, and we’re seeing some backlash to that. Chuck Schumer’s favorability overall in the state is -36 and even among private progressive voters it’s -20% 32%-52%. So he is toxic among all Democrats – only 47% of Democrats have a favorable view of Chuck Schumer. I haven’t really seen that been litigated a ton yet in this primary, that Stevens is kind of the default choice of the establishment, but all across the country we are seeing a backlash, DCCC candidates started losing. One just lost in Maine yesterday in ranked choice voting, another one in California a few weeks ago. It, with a few exceptions, can be a net negative, whereas in other cycles, like in 2018 where the electorate is very anti-Trump, but a little less angry as you’re combining like the cost of living crisis with anger towards Trump, whereas in 2018, the economy was much better, people were more satisfied with it, it’s creating this perfect storm where you could turn this idea of a traditional electability advantage or disadvantage on its head, and we won’t know until November, a poll is a poll, but I think that needs to be a bigger part of the conversation.
Carlson: 2010, that’s right, and the economy was bad then too, and that’s kind of the best-case scenario for Democrats this cycle, a Dem version of 2010.
We’re a massive wave. I think people are a little skeptical of that. Polarization has increased and redistricting and all that for the House, but when states like Alaska and Ohio and Texas and Iowa are in place in the Senate, if that comes to fruition, that’s pretty much the equivalent of a Democratic 2010, at least the Senate level.
The reason the Michigan Senate race is so interesting is Democrats can’t win the Senate if they don’t hold the seat, and there’s a lot of trauma around 2024 and they want to win. There’s a lot of nervousness around that, and a lot of confusion around who is the most electable kind of Democrat these days, and a lot of questioning and litigation of what that is. So, a lot of voters are almost acting like pundits and gravitating a little bit more towards the center versus voting with their heart. I think you’re starting to see more people do the latter, not just here, but in other parts of the country as well, and we’ll see how it all shakes out in August, but I don’t think we’re done with the twists and turns of this race yet.
McNamara: Did you get into the wedge issues at all?
Carlson: We also tested in the poll a few unnamed issue positions head to head. And then we also tested stuff on policy towards Israel.
Polling all across the country, I’m seeing Medicare for all is very popular. Would you be more likely to vote for a candidate that supports Medicare for all, which is what El-Sayed supports versus a private health insurance system, which is more in line with what Mike Rogers supports.
Some people were talking about how abolishing ICE and replacing it with a new immigration enforcement agency, like an INS or something like that, that we used to have. People were trying to equate that with defund the police, how it’s extreme position, it was an overly emotional reaction to what was happening in the moment that would hurt Democrats. But when I put abolishing ICE and replacing with a new immigration enforcement agency up against expanding ICE and increasing its funding, abolishing and replacing ICE actually narrowly won, almost exactly mapping onto Abdul El-Sayed’s overall lead over Rogers. But it’s certainly not this poison pill that a lot of more mainstream Democrats would have you believe in a state like Michigan.
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The race for the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race has been one of the most fascinating in the country. It drew national attention when controversial political commentator Hasan Piker rallied with Abdul El-Sayed on college campuses.
Piker has millions of followers on social media, largely made up of people under the age of 30.
The move was immediately met with condemnation from El-Sayed’s opponents – Congresswoman Haley Stevens, and State Senator Mallory McMorrow.
Since then, El-Sayed has steadily risen in the polls.
In a conversation this week, WDET’s Russ McNamara asked Piker what he seeks in an ideal candidate.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Hasan Piker: A candidate self-identifying as a socialist would be great, but in the absence of that, I care about where their primary focus is. Are they going to center the needs of the working class in their agenda, or are they malleable to corporate interests? And those are the things that I pay attention to.
I think some of the telltale markers of a candidate’s responsiveness to the masses is oftentimes their attitude on the issue of Israel, which is a 90-10 issue on the side of the voters within the Democratic Party, but a 10-90 issue seemingly when it comes to Congress.
Another one is Medicare for all. The private healthcare provider industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and they spend a great deal of money to ensure that Medicare for all is not implemented, and I think that’s another great litmus test to see if a candidate will actually put the needs and the interests of the working class first over their interest in farming campaign contributions from these moneyed interests.
Ed. Note – Piker recorded this interview while in New York City to support the Democratic Socialist candidates in their primary election. All won.
Russ McNamara, WDET: Then it sounds like Abdul El-Sayed checks a lot of those boxes.
Piker: Yes, absolutely.
McNamara: Was it all part of that that got you to come out onto the campaign trail for him earlier this year?
Piker: Yeah, Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t call himself a socialist, but I still like him quite a bit because I think he’s a fighter, and that’s what Americans need right now. Americans need fighters in the Senate, they need fighters in the House of Representatives, fighters that will put their interests first, fighters that won’t even shy away from sometimes telling the rest of the Democratic Party—not just the Republicans—that the path that they’re heading down is wrong.
Abdul obviously demonstrated that interest, and he has been a fighter for Medicare for all for a very long time, I mean, he wrote a book about it. His gubernatorial run was around the implementation of Medicare for all, so he has established a lot of trust in these communities, and I trust them as well.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to UAW-represented public defenders during an informational picket on June 17, 2026.
McNamara: Kind of along those lines, when you came to Michigan in the spring, there was tremendous outcry in some circles. Congresswoman Haley Stevens said you were ‘divisive.’ Mallory McMorrow compared you to the white supremacist Nick Fuentes. What is your response to things like that? Because you seem to hear it a lot.
Piker: Unfortunately, this is the way that politics is conducted in this country. In most circumstances, people rely on the rest of the electorate not really knowing anything about me, and in the past this might have actually worked, because mainstream media and local institutions were capable of successfully gatekeeping outsider candidates and also outsider media figures.
Nowadays it’s a little bit different, especially because there’s so much diversity of choice in where people can get their news from, so people can come to me directly and figure out what I’m actually about, so that was one of the reasons why that smear campaign failed spectacularly, because people could just tune into my broadcast, or people were maybe somewhat familiar with what I represented, and they understood that these smears were simply being thrown in my direction, not because of any serious anti-Semitism that I’ve ever displayed.
I have not; I’ve actually combated anti-Semitism my entire professional media career and will continue to do so. I find it repugnant. It’s an odious form of bigotry, just like every other form of bigotry, including Islamophobia.
But the other reason why this smear campaign did not work is because a lot of people intrinsically now understand in the aftermath of three years of genocide, and a lot of establishment Democrats, and certainly the entirety of the Republicans, criticizing those who speak out against this genocide with these heinous accusations, a lot of people understand that this is not a person that is actually bigoted in any way, shape or form. As a matter of fact, it’s quite the opposite. This is an anti-genocide advocate, and that’s part of the reason why he’s being called an anti-Semite.
Now, that dangerous conflation actually foments more anti-Semitism, which is, ironically, something that I’ve discussed quite a bit as well, for many, many years prior to October 7, and continue to do so now. But that’s why it didn’t work. It demonstrably failed, right? It fell flat on its face.
People started looking at Abdul’s campaign, people started hearing what he was saying, and they liked it… He was in third place before this smear campaign started, and now he’s comfortably in first place.
Abdul El-Sayed is a wonderful candidate. He has solid fundamentals. He’s probably one of the best candidates in the Democratic primary cycle this midterm season. Rhodes scholar, doctor, worked for Detroit Public Health, spent his entire professional life trying to heal people, and on top of that, he is against the genocide that Israel has committed, and that’s consistent with his values, consistent with my values as well, and yet he was not receiving a lot of media attention, that race in and of itself was not receiving a lot of media attention… and I guess Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow stepped on a landmine there and accidentally nationalized and publicized this (Michigan Senate) primary, and people actually started tuning in.
People started looking at Abdul’s campaign, people started hearing what he was saying, and they liked it. And lo and behold, he was in third place before this smear campaign started, and now he’s comfortably in first place.
McNamara: It seems like many within the Democratic Party still haven’t fully accepted the role Israel’s genocide in Gaza played in the 2024 election. I recently talked with pollster Adam Carlson about a recent Zenith research survey he did, and it had showed that Haley Stevens would lose a significant portion of people who identify as progressives in the general election, should she make it through the primary, less so for El-Sayed and McMorrow. Do you think this country’s views have shifted enough, and now unconditional support for Israel is seen as a political liability?
Piker: Absolutely, and that’s precisely the reason why AIPAC and AIPAC subsidiaries never actually reveal that the candidates that they’re fundraising for are pro-Israel. None of those ads, whether they be attack ads against their opponents or the ads in favor of their hand-selected candidates, ever mention this candidate’s point of view on Israel. If Israel was such a popular position, then they would proudly declare it. AIPAC wouldn’t need to use this opaque funding structure and find shell corporations to funnel money into by way of their donor network under the guise of United Democracy Fund, or Elect Women Fund, that was the one they used in Illinois in the Chicago primaries.
They do that because I think everyone understands that pro-Israel politics is demonstrably unpopular, and it’s only going to get less popular from this point on. I often throughout the genocide would say: going forward, today is the most popular Israel will be. Tomorrow, Israel will be less popular than it was today, and yesterday Israel was more popular than it is today. And that has been resilient.
There are constant demands for censorship against prominent critics of Israel.
That (pro Israel) attitude has shifted, and it will continue to shift as more and more people not only come to terms with Israel playing a destabilizing role in the region, but also the unbelievable amount of arrogance in display by those who are defenders of Israel and defenders of Israeli foreign policy.
I think that is oftentimes a less discussed aspect of the reason as to why Americans are frustrated with Israel, and it’s because there are constant demands for censorship against prominent critics of Israel. Some of those censorship attempts are actually successful, de-platforming initiatives that take place. I myself was banned from traveling to the United Kingdom only last month, and it was directly a consequence of my criticisms of Israel.
This kind of censorious attitude, especially when it’s the overwhelming majority’s position, is going to be unbelievably frustrating, and it’s only going to breed more enmity and hostility against the State of Israel. And outside of that there is this level of entitlement to unlimited funds coming from the United States of America, funds and weapons that Israel deploys on Palestinian civilians, on Lebanese civilians, as they’re doing currently, as they’re in the process of trying to disrupt the memorandum of understanding in a longstanding ceasefire negotiation that we might actually finally implement with Iran.
These kinds of destabilizing initiatives paired up with hubris, unbelievable entitlement and arrogance come across as very frustrating to the average American who is maybe uninitiated with the actions of Israel.
McNamara: Influencers are often brought up as a way for people to connect with younger voters. As you know, Democrats tried to do this to very mixed success at the DNC two years ago, but to you, what is the best way to gain the attention and the vote of the mythical younger voter?
Piker: I think it’s policies, ironically enough. In the post 2024 autopsy that was being conducted in public, a lot of Democrats went to mainstream media and decided the reason why Donald Trump won was because of Joe Rogan—and Joe Rogan was obviously the catch-all term for the podcast circuit, the manosphere.
Now, is the podcast circuit of the manosphere influential, especially in terms of converting young men to voters? Certainly, but ironically enough, they chose me as the left version of Joe Rogan because of my audience, because of the success I’ve seen in the independent sphere as the largest left content creator in these spaces that are inundated with far right and right-wing messaging.
The most significant issue is that the Democratic Party is not defined by a policy prescription for the problems that the working class faces in this country.
I told them over and over again, this is not an issue that you can podcast your way out of, that I myself am not the Joe Rogan of the left, and that Joe Rogan could potentially be the Joe Rogan of the left, and was the Joe Rogan of the left at some point when he endorsed Bernie Sanders. And that ultimately the problems that the Democratic Party are facing do not revolve around their lack of funding in messaging initiatives. That’s one element of the issue, but it’s not the most significant one.
The most significant issue is that the Democratic Party is not defined by a policy prescription for the problems that the working class faces in this country, and when they’re not defining themselves on those terms with left populous economic solutions: Medicare for all, an initiative in the direction of publicly funded housing, federal jobs guarantee, free college, these bold and somewhat radical agenda items that I think a lot of Americans are on board with.
Instead of doing that, the Democratic Party is constantly finding itself in a defensive posture against Republican culture war agenda items, and by not having a vision in the affirmative, they are allowing the Republican party to define the Democratic party, and that’s the reason why they keep losing. So it comes back to policies at the end of the day, because that’s the fundamental principle of theoretical democracy. We are going to vote an elected representative to represent our interests.
“What will you offer me?” This is the question that I think a lot of people understandably ask their elected representatives in the Democratic party, and their answers have so far been insufficient. I hope that this sequence of electoral defeats will light a fire under the Democratic Party, so that they don’t shy away from a more bold agenda, a more bold vision for change, especially because there’s tremendous appetite in the base of support for said bold agenda of change that centers the needs of the working class first and does not get bogged down with unnecessary culture war distractions.
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Over the past month, Michigan’s U.S. Senate race has emerged as one of the most competitive contests in the country. This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben break down the major developments that have shaped the race.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens appear to have pulled ahead of state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Fellow state Sen. Sam Singh said he still hopes McMorrow can gain ground before the primary election.
“What we are seeing right now is significant investment by outside groups [supporting Dr. El-Sayed and Rep. Stevens]. My understanding is that McMorrow has some independent expenditures that are happening. Now that people are spending real money, I think you’ll begin to see a clear path.”
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Democrats are locked in a three-way primary battle in the race for U.S. Senate. The candidates are Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow.
Stevens spoke to WDET about her plans for Michigan’s issues and her campaign for Senator.
Listen: Rep. Haley Stevens speaks to Russ McNamara at the Mackinac Policy Conference
Stevens: Oh my gosh, I’m writing a love letter to Michigan, and I’m having a blast, so something must be going well. But it’s obviously also a serious moment. We’re talking about the future of Michigan after kind of getting hammered these last couple years under the Trump administration, and we all know that Michigan needs a fighter and also someone who’s going to win for Michigan, and that has been me every step of the way. I’m frustrated by what I’m hearing from Michiganders, what we’re experiencing: rising gas prices, job insecurity, job loss in some instances, rising health care costs because of cuts coming down from Donald Trump. But then we can also look at how we’re going to create the economy of the future. I’ve got a vision for that, around 21st century industrial policy, things that I want to do for Michigan’s supply chain, ways in which I believe we can immediately lower costs like no tariffs on groceries and taking on the utility companies who are raising rates.
McNamara: DTE Energy had an announcement today talking about how they’re putting over a billion dollars into battery energy storage. Is that part of the clean energy future that you’re talking about? Because they’re promising to not raise rates or at least ask for a rate hike for two years.
Stevens: Well, one of my deep frustrations, and something that Mike Rogers, who’s also running for US Senate as a Republican, will go along with is the bad tax policy that is coming out of this administration. They got rid of the clean energy tax credit that left the consumers holding the bag. I’m deeply frustrated that rates continue to go up, and I don’t appreciate when Michigan taxpayers dollars are going to federal agencies that then give money to companies like DTE or consumers, and then they turn around and raise our rates. That’s actually a double tax. So I have written legislation to say, hey, if you’re going to get federal funds, then you’re going to either have to lower rates or cut executive pay, that is written legislation that I put forward as a House member that I will take to the United States Senate. I have also written legislation from the 118th session of Congress into this session of Congress focused on power outages and power outage relief, because what happens is power goes out, and consumers are again left holding the bag on the cost. There’s no insurance that’s going to bail them out. The utility company will send them maybe $35 when they’ve been out of house and home, their food has been spoiled. Small businesses have also been deeply impacted, and that’s where I started with my legislative solution, but I will just tell you that the tax bill that Trump and Co. passed last year, they called it the big beautiful bill, we called it the big ugly bill. It was voted on on party lines that didn’t work for Michigan consumers, that did not work for our energy future. In terms of battery storage, I’ve been proud to pass bipartisan legislation, actually going back to my first term in Congress as a member of the Science Committee on that front, and that was picked up by the legacy of the previous administration in terms of how we do a clean energy future.
McNamara: I want to talk about polling. You, so far, have been polling very well among African Americans in the state of Michigan. You had a couple of events in Detroit the other day. If the whole Senate thing doesn’t work out, would you consider running for Detroit mayor?
Stevens: Well, I love Detroit, and it’s been kind of going down memory lane. I was on the Avenue of Fashion on Memorial Day for the 100 men fashion event put on by the Bartells, and I was talking to my mom about it, and she’s like, your aunt, who I’m really close to, it’s my mom’s sister, she lived right off of Stoepel, and my aunt had a business for years in Detroit, and she loved the Avenue of Fashion, and there’s incredible history, obviously. There’s Motown, Motor City, the sports, all that, and I very much believe Michigan deserves a hands-on senator, and that means Detroit needs a hands-on senator.
McNamara: A couple years ago, you had a tough primary battle with Andy Levin, you’re in another tough primary battle. How does that differ from something like the general election? Because you’ve won contested general elections before, now it’s back to back tough primaries. How do you like some of the sort of mudslinging that comes along with that?
Stevens: Well, look. The deliberation of our democracy, the process of putting your name on the ballot and being out there, as you know, in our 250th year of existence as a nation, is still one of the purest forms of civilian service, right? You put up your hand to run, and I love it. I love campaigning. I’m grateful to be up there for Michigan. I’m proud of my record. I’m proud that I put up my hand to fight for Michigan, and I win for Michigan. I’ve been recognized as one of the most effective Democrats in the Congress, the most effective for Michigan, and this is something we need to think about. When Mike Rogers says that he wants to rubber stamp Donald Trump, well, then that means he’s not going to stand up to him when he’s saying that he’s going to keep the Gordie Howe Bridge permanently closed, or he’s going to put into place all these erratic tariffs, a different tariff announcement every day that has serious impacts on jobs and continuity, and of course costs, and so I’m just Michigan’s workhorse, doing the best I can to fight for us and to deliver for us, and that’s why I’m putting out my hand in this moment, and look, at the end of the day, we all know that there has been a rise and an uptick in extremes in politics, I mean, even with the senators from Minnesota, the state representatives getting ambushed, and just the governor – they were going to kidnap her—and that’s in some respects been sobering for people, and I go back to a lesson that my dad taught me, he was a small business owner, but he was also a kindergarten and first grade teacher, and his mantra, when he taught in Detroit Public Schools, was “Give out love and love comes back.” And you know, I do want to exude this love of Michigan, this love of community, something that we see all around us. I’m certainly not going to be giving a rubber stamp to an administration that’s hurting our state and hurting people who I care about, and that’s another reason why I’m standing up in this moment.
McNamara: So, as someone who likes to give love, you sound like someone who’s not overly comfortable with the whole primary process.
Stevens: Oh gosh, I knew we were going to have a tough race. I’m no stranger to them, and that’s what I’m getting at. It’s actually an amazing thing to be up there. I had a six way primary when I first ran for Congress, and I remember at the end I just thought, hey, we need to nominate the person who will get the nomination, whoever gets it, and then we got to go and win, and I’m in my heart of hearts a dedicated public servant. I will say, I do love nerding out and walking out for Michigan, and you gotta campaign too, and so I put my messages out there, just like the best of them.
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Rep. Haley Stevens continued her call for articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a house committee meeting on Friday.
During a contentious set of questions, Stevens says that the secretary abused his office and gutted America’s health.
She said she did it for Michigan. “I had a moment to push for accountability for Michiganders whose healthcare and safety is on the line with conspiracy theories running rampant. I wanted to push today for the transparency and accountability Michiganders deserve. That’s who I take my cues from.”
After Stevens’ questioning, U.S. Rep. Bob Onder of Missouri accused Stevens—who is currently running for U.S. senate—of using the moment to get a viral clip.
With a Republican led house, it is unlikely that the articles of impeachment will go further or get a vote.
Additional headlines for Friday, April 17, 2026
Michigan Senate takes up bill to slow utility rate hikes
A state Senate committee took up a bill to stop utility rates from going up more than once every three years.
Right now, energy companies can ask the Michigan Public Service Commission for higher rates every 12 months—a source of public frustration when approvals of rate increase requests are soon followed by requests for even higher rates.
Commission char Dan Scripps says a three year system could help address that. He adds that tying increases to performance would also improve the system. “The details are important and I think there are a number of places where multi-year rate plans provide for continued investment. If you add in performance-based mechanisms, you can, I think, realize some shared savings.”
The commission doesn’t have to approve the full amount, but if it does act within 10 months, the increase becomes automatic.
Sports
NBA
The playoffs start this weekend and No. 1 seed Pistons will play Sunday, April 19 against whoever wins the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic game tonight at 7:30 p.m.
MLB
The Detroit Tigers have a three game affair against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The first pitch for tonight’s game is at 7:15 p.m. The Tigers are currently third in the American League Central.
Soccer
Detroit City FC face off against the Pittsburg Riverhounds SC on April 18 at Highmark Stadium. Game starts at 7 p.m.
Speakeasy fundraiser
This weekend, check out The Speakeasy at the Guardian Building. On Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m. the Detroit Historical Society will host a fundraiser to support their efforts to share the rich history of the Motor City.
Tickets will cover live music by the Rhythm Society Orchestra, Charleston and East Coast Swing lessons, open bar, Detroit Distillery tastings, complimentary valet and more. Go to detroithistorical.org for more information.
Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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