President Donald Trump celebrated Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary Wednesday, predicting that the result would improve Republicans’ chances of flipping the battleground-state seat in November.
“Great news for the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Newsmax.
Trump branded El-Sayed a communist and accused him of hostility toward Jewish people and Israel. He also mocked the Democratic Party and argued that El-Sayed’s nomination would push its policies further to the left.
The president’s remarks came after El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in one of the country’s most closely watched Democratic primaries. The result delivered a major victory to the party’s progressive wing and set up a November showdown with Trump-endorsed Republican Mike Rogers.
Trump issued a separate post as the final primary results were being counted, targeting both El-Sayed and the election process in Wayne County, which includes Detroit.
Trump called the county “one of the most corrupt voting areas” in the country and alleged that fraudulent ballots could affect the outcome. He offered no evidence to support those claims.
The president also described El-Sayed as a communist “who is not liked in Detroit” before urging Michigan voters to support Rogers and make the state “TOO BIG TO RIG,” according to an archive of Trump’s Truth Social post.
Stevens performed strongly in Wayne County as later results narrowed El-Sayed’s lead. The timing of those returns was not unusual: Michigan’s most populous county has historically reported votes later than other parts of the state, according to election coverage.
El-Sayed ultimately prevailed by fewer than 15,000 votes, the Associated Press reported. Stevens conceded Wednesday and pledged her support to the nominee as Democrats moved to reunite after a bruising and expensive contest.
The primary became a battle over the Democratic Party’s direction.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health official, ran as an anti-establishment progressive. His platform includes “Medicare for All,” campaign-finance changes and ending U.S. military aid to Israel.
He received support from leading progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
Stevens, a four-term member of Congress, was backed by prominent establishment Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Her campaign also benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, much of it from groups supporting Israel.
That divide is likely to become central to the general election.
Republicans are expected to focus heavily on El-Sayed’s positions on health care, Israel and government spending as they attempt to portray him as too far left for Michigan. Trump’s immediate response offered an early preview of that strategy.
Rogers, a former congressman and Army veteran, received Trump’s “Complete and Total Endorsement” in 2025. Trump praised his military and congressional service while predicting that Rogers would bring a “Fighting Spirit” to the Senate, according to the Michigan Advance.
Rogers narrowly lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate election and is now seeking to become the state’s first Republican U.S. senator in decades.
Democrats, meanwhile, must consolidate their voters after a primary that exposed sharp disagreements over Israel, health care and the party’s broader political direction. Stevens and other party leaders have already moved to support El-Sayed despite backing his opponent during the primary.
Michigan is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races of the midterm elections. The outcome could help determine control of the chamber during the final two years of Trump’s second term.
Trump is betting that Democrats nominated a candidate Republicans can defeat. El-Sayed’s challenge will be proving that his progressive primary coalition can win over a much broader—and far less predictable—November electorate.
