Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary captured the attention of the country, and Black voters across Metro Detroit were at the center of the conversation.
The U.S. Senate primary between Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens was a test of establishment Democrats versus progressive insurgents. A generational divide among supporters could be seen throughout the race, as younger Black voters backed El-Sayed, and older Black voters supported Stevens.
At the time the Michigan Chronicle went to print, Abdul was ahead of Stevens by roughly 25,000 votes with 13 percent of precincts reporting.
Older Black voters who have for years been considered reliable members of the Democratic Party told Michigan Chronicle they don’t trust the more progressive wing of the party. The dynamics played out at Woodbridge’s Roost Coffee last month when owner Jeff Tatum told Stevens one of the big problems he sees is the progressive left.
Tatum set up the Stevens campaign to talk to Woodbridge Neighborhood Association leader Jai Singletary, a community leader and youth soccer coach.
Toward the end of the conversation between Singletary and Stevens, he showed photos of the children he coaches and told Stevens there’s no difference between these kids and the children in Gaza.
“Genocide isn’t a Palestinian issue. We’ve all got to care about this… This isn’t a candidate issue it’s a human rights issue,” Singletary told Stevens.
Stevens and El-Sayed are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to American support for Israel. Stevens has long opposed any restrictions on arming the right-wing government. El-Sayed calls the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack a genocide.
19-year-old Brandon Young is one of many younger voters who are backing El-Sayed because he is highly critical of the state of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“One of Haley Stevens’ most famous quotes is, ‘Israel comes to me in my dreams,” Young said in an interview with Michigan Chronicle. “I’m so sick of America bending the knee and getting on its knees for Israel — Haley Stevens doesn’t really seem to be against that.”
Michigan Black Legislative Caucus Chair Keith Williams has been a vocal supporter of Stevens. He’s backed the Representative through his role as caucus chair, and through his active Facebook account.
“Haley’s not about a photo op, she’s about getting something done,” Williams told Michigan Chronicle from Stevens’ watch party at the St. Regis Hotel on Grand Bvld. Tuesday night.
Rev. Patricia Coleman-Burns of First AME Church of Farmington Hills told Michigan Chronicle Stevens stood up for her when she raised concerns about anti-Black racism in the city.
“We can’t keep playing this game — Haley understood that,” Coleman-Burns said.
Stevens has focused her campaign on her work with former President Obama during the auto industry bailout. She’s also touted her work helping pass the Chips and Science Act during the pandemic. She has said she would ensure voting protections and hold accountable corrupt Trump administration officials.
A group of CongressionalBlack Caucus members, along with former Rep.Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, has endorsed Stevens’ U.S. Senate campaign. She was also endorsed last year by Keith Williams, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus, and Michigan’s first Black House Speaker Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit.
El-Sayed has said he would encourage the Supreme Court to overturn Citizens United, advocate for the passage of universal healthcare, and get rid of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) altogether.
El-Sayed was part of the group of officials that retooled Detroit’s health department after the city abandoned theHerman Kiefer public health complex after the 2008 financial recession. Under former Mayor Dave Bing in 2012, as the city prepared for municipal bankruptcy, the department handed over their work to a nonprofit called the Institute for Population Health.
El-Sayed also worked to increase support for a former Wayne County juvenile facility in Hamtramck where inmates reported experiencing violence and sexual assault.
His supporters include Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Rev. Horace Sheffield, The Black Slate, the UAW and others.
Some who opposed El-Sayed pointed to him not backing former President Joe Biden, whose name on the ballot appeared without an opponent. Arab and Muslim Michiganders led the “Uncommitted” campaign during the February 2024 presidential primary, which saw more than a hundred thousand voters circle the “uncommitted” option on the ballot.
El-Sayed publicly endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris days after Democrats announced she would be the party’s nominee instead of Biden — a move that drew criticism from some Arab and Muslim voters.
“I endorsed Vice President Harris because I understood that whether you saw this election from the eyes of a child in Detroit, or Wayne County where I was responsible, or you saw from the eyes of a child in Gaza, that Trump would have been worse, and we’re living through that now,” El-Sayed said. “I also endorsed Uncommitted because at the end of the day, it’s a pretty crazy thing to ask a community to support a candidate who is using their tax dollars to drop bombs on their cousins.”
