FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — After a contentious primary last month, Michigan Democrats are trying to unify in an effort to hold a Senate seat crucial to reclaiming the majority. Healing the fractures is proving complicated.
The struggle to stitch the party back together spilled into the open again in recent days — this time as nominee Abdul El-Sayed sought to reassure wary Jewish voters, who make up a key part of the Democratic coalition in the state.
Some Jewish Democrats were already skeptical of El-Sayed, a longtime critic of Israel who skewered his primary opponent over the millions of dollars in spending on her behalf by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
But for many Jewish voters, it was El-Sayed's response in March after a truck attack on the nearby Temple Israel preschool, that has remained the most agonizing. Last weekend, El-Sayed apologized for those comments and answered questions from voters at two gatherings of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus.
"I do think that there's been some movement and a shift in attitude," says caucus chair Decky Alexander, who helped organize the events. "Is it overwhelming? I don't think so. There's some people who will say 'I don't agree with him, but I'm glad he came."
"We agree on the really important stuff"
Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin did not endorse in the Senate primary, but now is among the Democratic leaders trying to help the party heal and make sure that El-Sayed joins her in the Senate, rather than a Republican who she says would be beholden to President Trump.
Slotkin knows what it is like to run a tight race, where relatively small pockets of votes can shift the outcome. Two years ago, Slotkin won an open Senate seat long held by Democrats, even as Trump carried the state. She won by roughly a third of a percent of the vote.
"I know that you're encountering neighbors and people at the door who are not sure," Slotkin told a gathering of the Midland County Democrats last month. "But let me tell you there are plenty of things that I don't agree with Abdul on, but we agree on the really important stuff and that's preserving democracy and fighting for the country and state we love in a serious and principled way."
El-Sayed, a former public health official who ran on a platform of Medicare for All with the backing of progressive stars like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, won the primary by less than a percentage point. Most Michigan Democratic heavyweights backed his opponent, but have since lined up behind their nominee.
Slotkin is a moderate. El-Sayed leans much further left. Slotkin says that misses the point. She says El-Sayed, like her, is willing to buck the old ways of doing things and fight. If he wins, Slotkin notes Michigan will be the only delegation where neither senator has accepted corporate PAC money.
"These issues that we've talked about are so unifying. That is what is going to heal any schism that's there," said Lara Bell Phillips, who co-chairs the Midland County Democrats and helps marshal volunteers from a rented strip mall space decorated with campaign signs, district maps and a literal blue wall.
"I'm feeling very energized," said Midland Democrat Kate Savage, who thinks the narrative of Democrats being divided is overblown. "I'm less worried about this year than I was in 2024. [Though] I think we've all learned our lesson that we're not just going to sit on our laurels because everyone hates Donald Trump. That's not true."
Bringing Democrats together is one challenge. Another is winning over independents and Republican-leaning voters, including in this deep red corner of mid-Michigan.
There is also optimism that El-Sayed's populist message can attract infrequent and new voters, especially young people. "A lot of people who voted for Trump first voted for Bernie Sanders," co-chair Kelly Taylor said.
Midland Democrat Kathleen Curell worries some of those persuadable voters may be scared off by some of El-Sayed's positions. He has said he wants to abolish and replace ICE and in the past expressed support for diverting resources from police. In wall to wall ads, Republicans are characterizing El-Sayed as "dangerous."
"He's a great candidate, I want to feel hopeful, and I want to believe he's going to win," Curell said. "I would love to think people are changing. But just the name alone, Abdul, some people are very tainted by the stereotypes. I've talked to some of these people. They just really have qualms about it."
In an interview, Slotkin acknowledged there is work to do in Michigan, but is optimistic Democrats will coalesce. "Good Midwesterners, good Michiganders, are pragmatists and they understand that, okay someone wins a primary, and then you move on," Slotkin said.
"I made a mistake"
For some Democrats, though, moving on has not been easy.
A hundred miles away, in the Detroit suburbs, post-primary unity was put to the test as El-Sayed hosted a town hall in Oakland County, which his opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, carried in the primary.
"When they tell us that somebody like me can't win, I want to show them the big-hearted and open-minded Michigan I know," he told the crowd in Farmington Hills.
The mayor here had endorsed Stevens and now was on hand rallying the crowd for El-Sayed. Much of the crowd waved campaign signs or arrived in blue Abdul T-shirts.
But Judy Kessler and her three friends were among the unconvinced Democrats who came hoping to hear more from the nominee. Though the event was billed as a town hall, El-Sayed ended up not taking questions.
The women said El-Sayed's comments after a March vehicle attack on the Temple Israel preschool were deeply painful. At the time, El-Sayed said, in part, that, "Violence always begets violence. Only peace can extinguish that. Because hurt people hurt people." Members of the assailant's family had been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Some voters saw El-Sayed's words as excusing the attack. Kessler had hoped El-Sayed would address this.
"He knows that's a sensitivity for people around here," Kessler said. "I feel like there was some mysterious thing in the room. No one was willing to say, 'People say this about me, but let me tell you this,' rather than just cliches. And that's what I feel like I got."
One of the friends, who asked NPR not to use her name because she's afraid to publicly disclose how she plans to vote, said while she would still likely vote for El-Sayed, she would not donate, volunteer or put a sign in the yard as she has done for Democratic candidates in the past.
A few days later, El-Sayed apologized for his comment about the synagogue attack and took questions from voters during two events with members of the Michigan Democratic Jewish caucus. He said he initially condemned the attack, but in a statement a couple of days later had wanted to offer context.
"I made a mistake," El-Sayed said at the Sunday event, according to a recording obtained by NPR. "There is opportunity for context later on, but when you give the right medicine at the wrong time, it's the wrong medicine… So for folks who felt like my comments were justifying an act of domestic terrorism, I did not intend it that way. I hope that you'll forgive me, and I'm sorry."
Also last month, comments by the streamer Hasan Piker revived criticism of El-Sayed's association with the left-wing streamer. Piker implied that Jews' support for Israel put them at risk of violence.
El-Sayed sought to distance himself from the controversy, calling antisemitism a scourge and saying Piker does not speak for the campaign, but not disavowing Piker himself.
On the heels of a paper-thin primary victory, Jewish voters are not the only group El-Sayed needed to make inroads with. Asked in an interview after the Farmington Hills event how he is pivoting from the primary to cultivating broad appeal ahead of November, El-Sayed said he does not envision a major shift.
"To be honest, it hasn't really changed, but we're a lot more focused on the contrast with Mike Rogers," he said.
Rogers is El-Sayed's Republican opponent, a former congressman who lost an earlier Senate bid against Slotkin in 2024. Rogers, a vocal critic of Trump's conduct after the 2020 election, now has the president's endorsement and has embraced some of his false claims about election fraud. Rogers has been trying to woo Democrats uncomfortable with El-Sayed, including Jewish voters, though it is not clear how many he has persuaded.
Alexander, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish caucus, said the El-Sayed campaign has been taking steps in recent weeks to repair relations with Jewish voters, including dialing down rhetoric singling out AIPAC.
When told by NPR what Kessler and her friends had said — that they want to vote Democratic but needed him to acknowledge and address their concerns, El-Sayed said, "I know there's going to be some differences, but the things that unify us are so much bigger than the things that divide us. And I hope I can continue to make the argument that inspires them to not just come out and vote, but bring others out to vote."
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