El-Sayed was the exclamation point in a big night for socialism in the state where U.S. House candidates William Lawrence and Donovan McKinney also won their Democratic primaries.
Sayed now advances to face Republican Mike Rogers (shown with El-Sayed right) in November. Polling released just days before El-Sayed’s victory against Democratic U.S. House member Haley Stevens shows a tight race shows the socialist in a tight race with Rogers a three-point lead.
“It’s basically a jump ball,” Matt Carpenter, director of FRC Action at Family Research Council, said on “Washington Watch” Wednesday.
Fox News Digital has found that Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El Sayed's campaign has received more than $115,000 from at least 41 individuals who work for or have held leadership roles with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and formally designated or labeled as such in Florida and Texas.
"I've been aware for a long time just how insidious this organization is. They give an appearance of having relationships and working together with conservatives and even with Christian people, but they are a snake in the grass, and they're one of the most dangerous organizations in our country, and they should be banned in every state in this nation, as I believe they are in Texas,” Bill Johnson, founder and president of the Michigan-based American Decency Association, told AFN.
The word on El-Sayed and CAIR is getting out, and that will chip away at his support, Johnson predicts.
“As people become aware of the depth of connection with the evil of Islamic philosophy and lifestyle, there's going to be a growing multiplication of people that are saying there is no way we would ever think of voting for this individual, for U.S. Senator. "
Socialist candidates are winning more than they did two years ago, with Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayor’s race the crowning achievement to date.
Elsewhere in Michigan, socialists Donovan McKinney and Will Lawrence also advanced Democratic primaries for congressional seats.
But their success is not universal.
In Missouri, incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell, widely considered a moderate U.S. House Democrat, easily defeated — for a second time — former House member Cori Bush. Bell picked up 59% of the vote to Bush’s 37%.
The margin was significantly larger than in 2024, when Bell defeated Bush 51% to 46%.
Bush, a former member of the congressional "Squad" and a prominent voice on the Democratic left, had attempted a political comeback after losing her House seat two years ago. Bell, who has taken a more mainstream Democratic approach and received substantial support from pro-Israel groups, successfully defended the nomination in the heavily Democratic St. Louis-area district.
Tuesday's elections showed that while progressives had important victories in some states, establishment-backed Democrats also won significant races, underscoring that neither faction dominated nationwide.
Battle for control of Congress
Carpenter calls El-Sayed’s win “potentially damaging, frankly, to Democrat chances to take control of Congress.
Early projections show Democrats with a strong chance to regain control of the House. Republicans appear to have a better chance to retaining control of the Senate.
Michigan isn’t ready to drop out of the 2026 spotlight. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and not on the ballot. Her secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, will take her place as the Democratic candidate.
“Jocelyn Benson has been sort of a central figure in a lot of the state's election integrity dealings, I guess we'll say, concerns, so I’m sure that angle will crop up in that race,” Carpenter said.
Inroads by Democratic socialist candidates have raised eyebrows on both sides of the aisle. There’s a lot at stake in November.
“You think about the Democratic Socialist agenda, some of them are talking about abolishing the Senate, redoing the Electoral College, packing the Supreme Court … just truly radical, radical ideas coming out of that wing of the Democratic Party,” Carpenter said.
