Michigan state Senate candidate Justin Onwenu, the former city of Detroit director of small business affairs, was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday.
It’s a sign of the party coming together after bitter primary cycle up and down the ballot. Onwenu’s opponent in the primary, former state Rep. Abraham Aiyash, was backed by local progressives such as U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, state Rep. Donavan McKinney and City Council member Denzel McCampbell.
Onwenu received the backing of more moderate Democrats like City Councilman Scott Benson and state Rep. Tyrone Carter, and some progressives too, such as former Congressman Andy Levin.
Onwenu won 18,921 votes, or 59%, compared with 13,312 votes, or 41%, for Aiyash, according to unofficial results. The two ran to be the Democratic candidate of the newly drawn 1st state Senate district that covers parts of Detroit and the Downriver communities.
“Primaries can be messy, but it’s important to check the record,” Onwenu said.
Onwenu was a Sanders delegate in 2020.
“I’m honored to have Bernie’s support. I actually have have known Bernie since I was an organizer,” Onwenu said. “I was somebody who helped give him a tour around Detroit, touching on a number of different environmental justice issues.”
Onwenu says he’s going to keep being himself when he gets to Lansing in Jan. after securing a victory in November in the safe Democratic Detroit-Downriver seat.
“I’m going to be myself,” Onwenu said. “I am the son of a teacher, who’s also a small business owner. I’m someone who grew up knowing what a co-payment was at a very early age. I was struck by the injustice of our current and existing healthcare system at a very young age.”
Bringing the party together
Onwenu, a lawyer, says he wants to play a role in convincing older African Americans skeptical of El-Sayed’s campaign to vote for the Democrat over Republican Mike Rogers.
Onwenu didn’t endorse El-Sayed or Stevens during the general election.
Some who voted for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens says El-Sayed must directly engage them before they’re comfortable supporting him. Stevens within 24 hours got behind El-Sayed’s campaign, but some surrogates haven’t been as quick to come together.
“I feel moved by Abdul’s commitment to making sure everyone has healthcare, that healthcare is a human right. I’ve been moved by Bernie’s commitment on that front for a very long time. It’s one of the reasons why I was at Bernie Sanders’ delegate in 2020 is because I’ve known what it feels like to be worried about whether you’re going to be able to see a doctor or not.”
Black voters largely sided with Stevens, the establishment-backed candidate, in the nationally televised primary on Aug. 4. Some voters who spoke to the Michigan Chronicle said they didn’t believe El-Sayed could beat Rogers. Others criticized his decision to vote Uncommitted in the Feb. 2024 primary election.
Politicos say that El-Sayed must win over a majority of those voters in order to beat Rogers in November.
Michigan Black Legislative Caucus Chair Keith Williams in a statement said Democrats must unite instead of continue to “fight yesterday’s primary battles.”
“I think that for a lot of older voters, there is a there is an assumption that there is this sort of radical there is a radicalism infused in what so many young people are calling for,” Onwenu said. “I feel well positioned to explain and to bridge that gap to say young folks have asked them for the same things, the same promises that our country has given you all we want to be able to afford a home, we want to be able to provide for our family with one job… We want to be able to not be at war and be sent off to war because our leaders have made stupid decisions.”
Onwenu said Abdul’s message is “deeply American.”
“It is deeply rooted in so many of the things that older generations have been fighting for, and I think, in particular, in the African American community,” Onwenu. “Abdul has a a long history of serving our communities as a public health official.”
Contentious primary cycle
The endorsement from Sanders is coming after an expensive state Senate primary that saw one Moroun-connected PAC, Detroit Next, spend $20,000 on mail pieces backing Onwenu.
Aiyash blasted Onwenu as outside groups spent money on more than a dozen mailers, several billboards and digital ads promoting Onwenu. One mailer attacked Aiyash, the former Democratic House floor leader, as “MAGA.”
Aiyash also attacked Onwenu for refusing to call Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide, pointing to pro-Israel donors as the reason why.
“It is a question about whether you have the moral clarity and courage to stand up to moneyed interests,” Aiyash said.
And Onwenu attacked Aiyash for not doing more to support Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The two debated their credentials outside of a June candidate forum and outside of the polls in Lincoln Park on Election Day.
Public disclosure shows Michigan Energy First doled out $50,000 to Detroit Next in June, a group funded largely by DTE Energy. DTE Energy is a major contributor to Michigan Energy First, according to reporting from the Detroit News, which obtained the group’s annual tax filing.
The dynamics in the race between Onwenu and Aiyash seemed similar to the top of the ticket. But on Election Day, thousands of El-Sayed voters also voted for Onwenu.
Of the Democratic candidates the super PAC supported, just Arthur Harrington in the 9th District came up short. The other candidates supported by the group won their races.
Onwenu says he ran a grassroots campaign that knocked over 55,000 doors. The League of Conservation Voters also phone-banked on his behalf. He and Aiyash said they would stand up to utility companies.
Onwenu also pointed to the $1,000 he donated to the Michiganders for Money out of Politics ballot initiative that would end certain dark money spending. He says candidates can’t control what outside groups choose to do.
“You can’t really control what outside organizations do, and that’s partially because our campaign finance laws, federally and at the state level, are broken,” Onwenu said. “And I hope to be a part of that movement and a part of that solution to fix our campaign finance systems and our our ethics of transparency issues as a state generally.”
Michigan Working Families Party director Branden Snyder, who endorsed Aiyash, said the outside spending made the difference in the race.
“Time will tell if he actually if (Onwenu) actually delivers on what his values or will he fall in line with the people who donated to him,” Snyder said. “We would like to meet with him he’s going to have to like build relationships with folks because a whole lot of folks endorsed differently than him.”
Sanders endorsement is ‘full circle moment’
“Bernie’s team reached out on Wednesday after the election, and said that they wanted to support,” Onwenu said. “As somebody who is rooted in so many parts of our party that are oftentimes being pitted against each other, and so I really want to be somebody who can bring folks together that includes our party to make sure that we deliver for work with people.”
Onwenu said that his progressive values are rooted in policy demands and an agendas of folks who’ve come before us.
“I think the thing that brings all of our communities together, across race, across religion, across ideology, it should be this relentless focus on rebuilding our economy to actually work for Americans.”
Sanders in a statement said that Onwenu has always been a champion for Michigan’s working class.
“I am proud to endorse Justin Onwenu for Michigan State Senate,” Sanders said. “Michigan is the birthplace of America’s middle class, and we need fighters like Justin to help reorient our politics around the needs of working people.
“Through his leadership as a community organizer, attorney, and in the labor movement, Justin has always been a relentless champion for Michigan’s working class. He understands that, in the richest country in human history, no American should worry about healthcare or struggle to afford basic necessities.”
