Van Hollen backs El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race: He’ll ‘take on the Democratic establishment’
Michigan’s open Senate primary is becoming a major battleground over the direction of the Democratic Party. Abdul El-Sayed just picked up an endorsement from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who says El-Sayed is ready to take on a party establishment that hasn’t fought hard enough for working people.
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) bucked with Democratic Party leadership on Thursday, issuing an endorsement for former Detroit Health Director Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate campaign in Michigan.
Van Hollen became just the second U.S. senator to publicly support El-Sayed, joining Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The Maryland Democrat told AP News that El-Sayed is the best candidate to challenge the status quo in Washington.
“When I say the status quo, I mean not just the lawless Trump administration, but take on the Democratic establishment that has not fought hard enough for working people,” Van Hollen told AP.
Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voiced support for El-Sayed’s opponent, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). Schumer told Punchbowl News he thinks Stevens “has the best chance to win.”
Stevens has the endorsement of three other current senators: Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oaks), the third candidate in the primary, has endorsements from Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Peter Welch (D-VT).
The endorsement marks the latest in Van Hollen’s shift toward Sanders’ progressive wing of the Democratic party. In recent years, Van Hollen has also backed measures to cancel aid to Israel and criticized Democrats for failing to hold the country accountable for the genocide in the Gaza Strip, including former President Joe Biden.
Last November, Van Hollen also became a co-sponsor on Sanders’ Medicare for All Act, which is a key policy of many progressives in Congress and El-Sayed’s campaign.
Progressive momentum
Van Hollen’s endorsement comes the same week candidates backed by New York City’s democratic-socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept their races in New York’s primaries. Meanwhile, El-Sayed has been surging ahead of Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary election, with support from Sanders, unions like the United Auto Workers and prominent progressives in Congress and online.
In a poll released by Mitchell Research & Communications on June 16, El-Sayed held a commanding lead over Stevens and McMorrow.
In addition to health care policy, El-Sayed has stood out on the Israel-Gaza issue. He has labeled Israel’s military campaign against Palestinians a genocide and opposed the U.S. sending aid to Israel. In debate on May 28, El-Sayed attacked is opponents for courting support from pro-Israel donors and lobbying groups like American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
AIPAC spent millions supporting Stevens’ congressional campaign in 2022. Although the group has not officially spent money for her 2026 Senate campaign, AIPAC bundled $334,000 to her House campaign committee just before she announced her Senate bid last year. The Detroit News also found that AIPAC is likely directing its donors to give to Stevens’ Senate campaign.
Whichever candidate wins the Democratic primary will face Republican Mike Rogers in the general election. Democrats are hoping to keep the seat in one of the country’s most notorious swing states. With U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) not seeking reelection, Democrats do not have the advantage of an incumbent in the tossup race.
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