The Democratic Party’s progressive wing scored a high-profile victory when Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s US Senate primary, US media projected yesterday, giving its anti-establishment message a boost ahead of November’s midterm elections.

El-Sayed, whose message focused on healthcare, the economy and an end to unconditional military aid to Israel, was the first progressive to win a statewide primary in a state that President Donald Trump carried in 2024.

Tuesday’s vote, billed as a defining test of the party’s direction, became an election-night cliffhanger before US media projected early yesterday that El-Sayed had narrowly prevailed over US Representative Haley Stevens, a moderate supported by Democratic leaders and pro-Israel groups.

The race served as a battleground between progressives and moderates over support for Israel, an issue that has played out in primaries nationwide this year. But unlike contests in liberal bastions, this was a statewide race in a Midwestern swing state for a seat Democrats must win if they have any hopes of securing a Senate majority in November.

Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in spending by a pro-Israel super PAC, and her supporters argued she was the more electable candidate in the general election, when she will face Republican Mike Rogers, a former US representative.

Analysts had said one significant factor in El-Sayed’s favor was that Michigan is home to some of the country’s largest Arab American communities, where hostility to Israel runs deep.