Sanders Tells Michigan Voters This Senate Race Isn’t About the Candidate

Clear Facts

• Sen. Bernie Sanders dismissed Rep. Haley Stevens at a Detroit rally, claiming Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary is about stopping the “billionaire class” from defeating progressive Abdul El-Sayed
• Sanders stated that outside groups have already spent $50 million against El-Sayed with two weeks remaining before the August 4 primary
• The race has become a proxy battle between establishment Democrats backing Stevens and progressives supporting El-Sayed, with the winner facing Republican Mike Rogers in November

Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered a blunt message to Michigan Democrats on Friday: the state’s Senate primary isn’t really about the candidates on the ballot. According to the Vermont independent, it’s about whether wealthy elites can block a progressive from reaching Washington.

Speaking at a Detroit campaign rally alongside Abdul El-Sayed, Sanders framed the August 4 Democratic primary as a battle between grassroots progressives and deep-pocketed donors.

“In all due respect to Haley Stevens, everybody knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul,” Sanders said. “This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class. That is what this election is about.”

Sanders pointed to what he described as unprecedented spending by wealthy donors and outside groups attempting to defeat El-Sayed, whom he has endorsed as a leading progressive Senate candidate this cycle.

“The billionaire class, which has already — and there are two weeks left to go in the election — has already spent $50 million against him,” Sanders said. “Now I want everybody here throughout the state, people turning on the TVs and they see all these ads, I want you to ask yourself a simple question: Why are the richest people in the country spending tens and tens of millions of dollars to defeat Abdul El-Sayed?”

The Sanders rhetoric highlights a familiar divide within Democratic politics — the tension between establishment-backed candidates and progressive insurgents. For conservative observers, this infighting demonstrates the ideological fractures that continue to define the Democratic Party.

Sanders claimed outside groups have outspent El-Sayed’s campaign by a 12-to-1 margin, characterizing the spending disparity as evidence that powerful interests view the progressive candidate as a threat. According to AdImpact, super PACs backing Stevens are spending approximately $26.9 million on television ads during the final five weeks of the primary, compared with roughly $2.1 million backing El-Sayed.

The Michigan Senate primary has emerged as one of the most closely watched Democratic contests of the 2026 cycle. El-Sayed has secured endorsements from Sanders and other prominent progressives, while Stevens has the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and recently received the endorsement of retiring Sen. Gary Peters.

Stevens has represented Michigan’s 11th Congressional District since 2019 after serving on the Obama administration’s auto industry task force. However, her campaign has faced recent scrutiny after several speeches went viral for unflattering reasons.

In one viral clip, Stevens delivered an animated campaign speech that critics online compared to a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch featuring Chris Farley’s “van down by the river” character. The moment drew widespread mockery on social media.

The viral incident also renewed attention to a 2020 House floor speech in which Stevens, wearing pink latex gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic, continued speaking after her allotted time expired as the speaker pro tempore repeatedly declared her “out of order” and struck the gavel.

The Senate race tightened after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow ended her campaign earlier this month, leaving Stevens and El-Sayed in a head-to-head contest that many Democrats view as a proxy battle over the party’s future direction. The winner is expected to face Republican Mike Rogers in November.

For Republicans watching from the sidelines, the Democratic civil war in Michigan presents an opportunity. Whoever emerges from this contentious primary will face a general election battle with baggage — either the progressive label that Sanders is championing or the establishment backing that El-Sayed supporters view as corporate influence.

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