On Aug. 4, Michigan primary voters will decide who should become the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. The race has drawn significant national attention for good reason: Michigan is a swing state. Democrats must defend the seat if they hope to take back the Senate, and Republicans are looking to secure it to maintain a majority. Because the Republican primary was uncompetitive, this Editorial Board chose to exclusively weigh in on the Democratic primary race.
In order to make a well-informed endorsement, we reached out to the three Democratic candidates.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, currently represents Michigan’s 8th state senate district. Propelled to national political fame by her notable 2022 speech condemning hateful politics, she is campaigning on her ability to combine progressive values with a mindset geared toward pragmatism and passing legislation. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former gubernatorial candidate and Wayne County health director, has rallied support for progressive policies, even securing an endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders, I-VT. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., is a four-term congresswoman representing central Oakland County. Her campaign is defined by political centrism and consistent advocacy for Michigan’s auto and manufacturing industries.
El-Sayed and McMorrow both agreed to an interview. Stevens did not respond to our request. After a thorough interview process and months of significant discourse, a majority of Editorial Board members voted to endorse El-Sayed for Michigan’s Democratic Senate nomination.
From a policy standpoint, El-Sayed’s broad, sweeping vision is best for all Michiganders. He is the only candidate who is running to pass Medicare for All, and his public health background equips him with the necessary experience and vision to improve the U.S. healthcare system.
Moreover, El-Sayed is adamant about the importance of narrowing income gaps. El-Sayed is the only candidate in this race to call for a billionaire tax to make the distribution of wealth more equal. In this political moment — defined by hesitation and incrementalism — big solutions are needed, and a wealth tax certainly meets that need.
Above all else, El-Sayed is the only candidate in this race who has never taken corporate money. With spending on elections ballooning, he wants to curtail donations from political action groups and large corporations that currently plague our politics. We believe this is a step in the right direction toward rejecting corporate spending in all elections.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, El-Sayed also spoke about his beliefs on one of the most contentious foreign policy questions in politics today.
“I called the circumstance in Gaza a genocide, because, well, that’s a genocide, right?” El Sayed said. “Words have meanings, and there is no other word for decimating tens of thousands of kids.”
His assessment of genocide in Gaza is an example of the broader message of El-Sayed’s campaign: On tough issues that many leaders in the Democratic Party would like to ignore, El-Sayed takes an unwavering position. This no-nonsense approach would establish El-Sayed as a stalwart fighter for Michigananders in the U.S. Senate.
To college students frustrated with the tumultuous nature of American politics, El-Sayed goes further than Stevens and even McMorrow, addressing both day-to-day and systemic issues that the next generations will undoubtedly face. This Editorial Board felt his authenticity — an important pillar of his campaign. In fact, he has worked to reach all of Michigan, explaining in his interview that he has appeared at 300 public events and visited 90 cities.
He emphasized his concern that President Donald Trump has been a “fixture” in politics for many young people’s entire lives and conveyed strong optimism for what a different future can look like.
“We don’t have to fight endless wars,” El-Sayed said. “We can live in a world where everybody has healthcare. We can live in a world where we are a proponent of peace and not war, we can live in a world where everybody gets to have the basic dignities of life.”
His policy goals, alongside his unabashed hope for a better future, are the reason why this Editorial Board believes El-Sayed is the best candidate for Michigan.
At times, the Democratic Party can get caught up in platforming candidates who appeal to a wide voter base. El-Sayed deviates from that thinking. More moderate candidates, in an effort to appease the electorate, avoid taking firm stances on controversial topics. Instead, El-Sayed’s messaging is powerful and direct, not shying away from difficult conversations. And yet, it has been effective, drawing large crowds in cities across the state. While McMorrow may align more closely with the Democratic Party’s standard, El-Sayed is pushing beyond it. His messaging provides that electability does not always have to mean centrism. It can mean approaching politics differently and connecting with people everywhere — from small towns to college campuses.
Many Democratic voters have raised concerns about El-Sayed’s electability beyond the primary. He must be competitive in the general election against likely Republican nominee Mike Rogers; however, El-Sayed has previously fallen short when polled against Rogers.
But that’s not the full picture. Polling indicates that every Democratic candidate currently struggles to top Rogers. If voters are concerned about El-Sayed’s electability come November, Stevens and McMorrow’s ability to win should be just as worrying.
This race is important, as it will be a defining factor in who secures control of the U.S. Senate. But it represents more than that. Voting for Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary will widen the door for a better way of doing politics: standing up for all Michiganders, changing the way we approach healthcare and refusing corporate influence. This Editorial Board believes that this is the future Michigan Democrats should vote for on Aug. 4.
This editorial represents the opinion of The Michigan Daily’s Editorial Board. If you are interested in submitting an Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor, please send your submission to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
