Dempocalypse 2026: Michigan Edition

Is this the team that will emerge victorious in Michigan this evening? 

If polls are any indication, the answer is yes. 

But polls have a funny way of oversampling those who actually vote. Which is why a victory for Abdul El-Sayed and Team Cuckoo Socialists is far from a given. 

This is a competitive race, to be sure. But it will not be a double-digit win for El-Sayed. That would defy everything we know about Michigan Democrats. It would signify that young voters turned out in record numbers, a feat that we all know never comes to pass. Counting on Gen Alpha to carry you to an election victory is like counting on the coyote to catch the roadrunner: you may think it will happen, but in actuality it never does. 

Which is why Haley Stevens has been smart to turn out the Democratic base. You know, the people who will actually be voting today. Black voters. Jewish voters. Seniors. The voting bloc that time and time again shows up to vote in Democratic primaries. There is no doubt that El-Sayed is carrying younger generations who are infatuated with his pie-in-the-sky campaign promises. But for those who have been around the block, for those who understand that it is pragmatism and not idealism that best govern, they will be voting for Haley Stevens. They've already seen her use that pragmatism in Congress. And they know that you need the experience of government to be a United States senator. Some jobs you can learn on the fly without previous experience. United States senator is definitely not one of those jobs.

Michigan is a test, to be sure. DSA desperately needs its first statewide victory. But with El-Sayed polling significantly worse than Stevens in a head-to-head matchup against Republican Mike Rogers, it becomes clear that Stevens is the only viable option for Democrats to hold this senate seat. That is why she has been endorsed by those in the know: outgoing Senator Gary Peters, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Congressman James Clyburn, and the Congressional Black Caucus. This is no time to play around with an unelected, DSA-aligned, antisemitic candidate. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has gone so far as to call El-Sayed the "Pontiac Platner." When even John Fetterman of all people understands how risky Abdul El-Sayed is, it makes Michigan voters stand up and take notice. 

Buckle in, folks. Election results will likely go into the wee hours of the morning. Will DSA finally get the breakthrough it so desperately desires? Or will Haley Stevens shock the world and make Emerson Polling forever irrelevant? We can only hope we know the answer, but this race is unquestionably going down to the wire.

This is your Michigan Democratic Senate primary open thread.