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A combustible and divisive Democratic Senate primary in battleground Michigan is giving Republicans an early edge as they aim to flip a crucial Democrat-held seat in the midterm elections.
A Fox News poll conducted after this month’s primary showdown, in which left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged more moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens to capture the party’s nomination in the race to defend the seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, indicates El-Sayed is having difficulty unifying the Democratic base.
That appears to be giving Republican nominee and former Rep. Mike Rogers more ammunition to court Democrats uncomfortable with some of El-Sayed’s controversial past comments and far-left policy positions. Democrats must hold the swing state seat as part of their uphill climb to win back the Senate majority from the GOP.
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According to a Fox News survey of Michigan registered voters conducted Aug. 6-10 and released this week, Rogers held a 51%-47% edge over El-Sayed, within the survey’s margin of sampling error.
Rogers’ edge is fueled largely by stronger party unity among Republicans. Nearly all Republicans (96%), including both MAGA (99%) and non-MAGA Republicans (89%), backed Rogers, the poll indicates.
El-Sayed’s support among Democrats is slightly lower, at 91%. While 98% of self-described Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) supporters backed El-Sayed, that number dropped to 69% of non-DSA Democrats and independents.
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Meanwhile, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the more moderate Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, grabbed 81% support among non-DSA Democrats and independents. That helped fuel Benson’s overall 52%-47% advantage over Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. John James.
“El-Sayed is clearly underperforming in some groups…There is damage done from the primary,” veteran pollster and strategist Chris Anderson, the Democratic partner on the Fox News Poll, said.
Anderson told Fox News Digital that El-Sayed “needs to bring home Democrats…He has his work cut out for him and he needs to convince some folks, but I think there’s favorable ground for him to be playing on despite the concerns that a lot of voters hold.”
Rogers, in an interview with Fox News Digital ahead of the primary, said “we’ve unified the Republican Party in a way I haven’t seen in decades here on this particular race.”
“We’re building our team, our resources, and ready for the fight…in a way I don’t think Democrats are expecting,” Rogers, who is backed by President Donald Trump as he runs for the Senate for a second straight cycle, touted.
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A former Wayne County Health Department director, El-Sayed, if elected in November, would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator. He is an epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018. He has made support for “Medicare-for-all” a major component of his campaign.
He has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is a vocal critic of Israel during its war with Hamas — even characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” against Palestinians. El-Sayed, who was endorsed and joined on the campaign trail by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, has also vowed not to accept PAC donations.
Republicans argue that El-Sayed is too far to the left and too radical for the Great Lakes swing state.
Rogers, in his Fox News Digital interview, called El-Sayed “way too extreme for Michigan. I mean, Abdul, he has his own special sauce of crazy.”
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In a campaign video released last week, Rogers reached out to Democrats he called “hopeless, because the person who won [their party’s primary] does not represent your values, well, just know, there is still hope” and said they have a “home” with his campaign.
El-Sayed, speaking to Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary, was confident that he would be able to unite Democrats.
“I think we all understand the risk of Donald Trump. We all understand the risk of Mike Rogers,” El-Sayed said.
Referring to voters who supported Stevens, he emphasized, “I think everybody understands what the stakes are. So I’m looking forward to welcoming everybody who might have voted differently in the primary.”
Anderson, the veteran Democratic pollster, said he expects El-Sayed to better unify the Democratic base as Election Day nears.
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“These are folks who in highly partisan environment are going to be faced with do they vote for a Democrat or a Republican,” Anderson said.
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