Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Rally 2,000 for El-Sayed as $50 Million Floods Michigan Senate Primary
Updated
Updated · Detroit News · Jul 17
Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Rally 2,000 for El-Sayed as $50 Million Floods Michigan Senate Primary
3 articles · Updated · Detroit News · Jul 17
Summary
About 2,000 people packed Detroit Opera House as Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and UAW President Shawn Fain urged Democrats to back Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Aug. 4 Senate primary.
The trio framed the race against Rep. Haley Stevens as a fight over money and party direction, attacking roughly $50 million in outside ad spending and promoting El-Sayed’s Medicare-for-all platform.
TV ad spending has favored Stevens by a 12-to-1 margin, with the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project alone set to spend $28.5 million supporting Stevens or attacking El-Sayed.
Stevens’ campaign countered by casting El-Sayed as a wealthy candidate hiding his finances, while Republican nominee Mike Rogers used the rally to accuse Democrats of pursuing a socialist agenda.
The open-seat contest, triggered by Sen. Gary Peters’ retirement, has become a national test of whether Michigan Democrats favor a progressive insurgency or a more centrist path.