Elizabeth Warren Backs Abdul El-Sayed, Splitting From Schumer in Michigan Senate Race

Elizabeth Warren Backs Abdul El-Sayed, Splitting From Schumer in Michigan Senate Race

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has thrown her support behind Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's crowded Democratic Senate primary, a move that puts her at odds with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and reshuffles the balance of power in one of the cycle's most closely watched races.

Warren announced the endorsement in a video, describing El-Sayed as someone building a movement of working people across Michigan. The pair are expected to campaign together in the state in the coming days.

A Change of Heart

The endorsement marks a reversal for Warren, who had originally backed state Senator Mallory McMorrow earlier in the primary. McMorrow dropped out of the race earlier this month and is not expected to endorse another candidate before the primary. Her exit came weeks before voters head to the polls, clearing space for Warren to realign behind El-Sayed.

In her endorsement, Warren pointed to El-Sayed's refusal to take corporate money and his push to get money out of politics as central to her decision. The move puts her squarely in the party's progressive wing, alongside Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom had already stumped for El-Sayed in Michigan. AOC's endorsement praised El-Sayed as building a winning coalition around an agenda that speaks directly to working people.

The Establishment Divide

The race also includes centrist Representative Haley Stevens, who carries the backing of several establishment Democrats, and had been considered Schumer's preferred candidate to hold the seat. Stevens has picked up endorsements from the Detroit News editorial board and Senators Ruben Gallego, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Chris Coons. Schumer has publicly said he believes Stevens gives the party its best shot at holding the seat in November, as some Democrats in Washington worry a El-Sayed nomination could complicate the general election in a state former President Trump carried in 2024.

El-Sayed, meanwhile, has been building momentum of his own, having also secured an endorsement from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen. His campaign has leaned into the same anti-establishment, anti-corporate-money message that fueled Warren's political rise, and it appears to have resonated enough to bring her fully into his camp.

What's at Stake

Michigan's open Senate seat, left vacant by the retirement of Senator Gary Peters, is one of the party's top targets as Democrats try to claw back a Senate majority. The state's sizable Arab American and Jewish voter blocs around Detroit have made positions on Israel a major flashpoint in the primary, adding another layer of tension to a race already split along generational and ideological lines.

With Warren, Sanders, and Ocasio-Cortez all now behind El-Sayed, and Schumer and much of the party's centrist wing lined up behind Stevens, the primary has become something of a proxy fight over the direction of the Democratic Party heading into the midterms. Voters will have the final say when Michigan holds its primary later this summer.