In the first 90 seconds of his victory speech in Detroit Wednesday, Abdul El-Sayed both lambasted the influence of AIPAC and appealed to his rival Haley Stevens, who had benefited from the pro-Israel lobby\u2019s massive resources, to campaign with him.<\/p>\n
The jarring and almost immediate transition in the freshly elected Michigan Senate nominee\u2019s remarks illustrates the daunting bridge-building that Democrats face between the party\u2019s pro- and anti-Israel wings ahead of a midterm election the party sees as crucial to wresting control of the Senate from the GOP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later, El-Sayed devoted a chunk of his speech to ensuring the safety of Michigan\u2019s Jews, still rattled by his equivocal reaction to an attack on a suburban Detroit synagogue earlier this year.<\/p>\n
At the outset of his speech, the newly minted nominee lauded Mallory McMorrow, another contender for the Democratic nomination who dropped out early, and who had introduced him Wednesday, stating, \u201dYou took on the power of AIPAC.\u201d He continued, \u201cYou were willing to speak truth to a level of power that sometimes is unbeatable.\u201d Like El-Sayed, McMorrow attacked Stevens for accepting the backing of funders affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n
Three sentences later, El-Sayed appealed to Stevens, who was backed by upwards of $30 million in pro-Israel money, to join him in defeating Mike Rogers, a former congressman who is the Republican nominee to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever differences that we might have had in the primary,\u201d he told his \u201ccolleague and friend\u201d Stevens, \u201cthey pale in comparison to what unifies us \u2013 a recognition that so long as we want to keep our democracy, that democracy better be working for people, and that all of us have to come together to make sure that we never let Mike Rogers see the inside of the U.S. Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stevens lost by less than 1 percentage point, a stunning rebuke to multiple pollsters who said she would lose by double digits. The more than $60 million spent on the race on her behalf helps make it the most expensive in Senate primary history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the close margin, Stevens quickly endorsed El-Sayed Wednesday, as did Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Jewish New York Senate minority leader who pushed hard for her to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke with Abdul a few moments ago to offer him my full support as we work to defeat Mike Rogers this November,\u201d Stevens said on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The close call means El-Sayed now has to pivot to the voters Stevens won. Many of them are Black and working-class moderates who live in the Detroit area, as well as Jews who were unsettled by his attacks on Israel and his seeming insensitivity to Jewish security.<\/p>\n
Republicans immediately signaled that El-Sayed\u2019s animus toward Israel and its supporters \u2013 a dynamic that came to dominate the primary race \u2013 would be a focus of their general election campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n