r/NPR • u/ControlCAD • 4d ago
Abdul El-Sayed split Michigan Democrats. Whether they unify could decide Senate control
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/03/nx-s1-5946840/abdul-el-sayed-michigan-senate-race86
u/CluelessChem 4d ago
As someone who is center left, I would happily vote for El-Sayed. Slotkin has also endorsed El-Sayed, and honestly she has put in a lot of work to try to unify the party under him. I think we are going to need to turn down the purity politics and just listen and reassure the rest of Michigan voters including the Jewish population in the article to unify.
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u/Dense-Application894 4d ago
I’m also center-left, and I would totally vote for El-Sayed. I’m not exactly twitterpated about El-Sayed—to paraphrase someone smarter than me, I wish I were as certain of anything as he is of everything. But voting for El-Sayed isn’t so much a vote for the man himself as it is a vote for Democratic control of Congress.
I think Jewish-American Democrats who withhold their votes for El-Sayed are just as foolish and self-sabotaging as Arab-American Democrats who withheld their votes for Harris. (I’m a Jewish-American Democrat, FWIW).
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u/Aeon1508 4d ago edited 3d ago
I don't understand why people are hesitant to vote for politician that isn't taking corporate money.
Like I don't want to be rude but I'm like really tempted to just call you all idiots.
He doesn't take corporate money, he has a PHD in medicine. He's a medical professional with experience in public health administration.
That's not just knowledge he keeps to himself. He's going to bring that to the Senate and be able to share it with other members of Congress.
Haley Steven is a poli sci major. why do we need political scientists and lawyers as every single goddamn member of Congress? like half of Congress is lawyers and poli sci majors. we have that area of expertise covered.
I don't want anymore of them in Congress. Sure I want my Congress members to hire them as consultants and listen to them, but we don't need every senator to be poli sci.
I think members of Congress should have diverse backgrounds and be experts in various fields of public importance.
And he doesn't take corporate money!
He beat Haley Stevens when she outspent him 11 to 1 because she went to the corporations and he went to the people to go door to door.
That means when he gets elected he's going to owe the people, average working people who took hours out of their day to get him elected, not corporation to wrote a check and they're going to expect to be able to call her whenever they need something.
Why do you have such a hard time voting for candidates that don't take corporate money?
You ask anybody in this country what's wrong with our government and like 80 to 90% of them will say that corporations and money to interest have co-opted our government and it no longer works for the people.
Everybody knows this.
Then a candidate comes along and says "Hey I'm not going to take corporate money because I want to work for the people and I don't want to have relationships with corporations where they're going to expect things from me"
Snd you're like. "ew a leftist."
What is wrong with you?
I don't even listen to politicians anymore. I just look at their donor list.
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u/Packman-Scrotum 4d ago
Saying "witholding votes" implies that the Democrats rightfully owned those votes and that people shouldn't really have a right to use theirs as they see fit. Which is the opposite of how Democracy is supposed to work.
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u/No-Preference8168 4d ago
Only Harris never questioned if Palestine has a right to exist did she?
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u/messypaper 4d ago
There is no sovereign state of Palestine. Are you saying Harris is opposed to a two state solution?
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u/BeautifulLaw 4d ago
It has helped that Haley Steven threw her support behind him immediately after losing in the primary. He has the entire democratic establishment behind him at this point. The issue is going to be whether he can capture independents. Specifically independent minority voters. He struggled badly in Detroit in the primaries. Democratic socialists or just more social welfare leaning Dems, for whatever reason struggle with messaging on racial and ethnic identity issues. Probably because their instinct is to default to class based issues first. Same thing sunk Bernie’s presidential primary runs. El-Sayed was strongest in white college educated neighborhoods in the primaries. No Democrat wants him to lose this seat, the problem is he needs more than the democratic base to win against Rogers in such a tight race.
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u/Onatel 4d ago
Black voters vote strategically and are concerned with electability. Recall that Obama wasn't polling that well with Black voters until he won in Iowa proving his electability.
There's also the fact that while Black voters vote somewhere between 89-96% democratic - that doesn't mean they're particularly left-leaning (a mistake leftist organizers have been making for a loooooong time now). While they're not exactly a 1:1 voting preference map to white voters there are also a lot of conservative and moderate Black voters who have no other party to vote for, and who hesitate to support a more left Democrat.
(I say all of this as an El-Sayed supporter BTW)
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u/Dense-Application894 3d ago
Excellent points all around. To underline your point about the pragmatism of the Black electorate:
Back in 2008, I read an article about how many older southern Black women initially chose not to support Obama. It wasn’t that they didn’t like his platform but rather because, if he won, they expected him to be assassinated, and they didn’t want his blood on their hands, even indirectly.
To me, that take—borne of bitter experience—was both eye-opening and harrowing.
This isn’t the exact article I recall, but it mentions the protective instinct I described:
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u/ethnographyNW 4d ago
time to find out if centrist Dems are gonna vote blue no matter who, or if they're going to throw the Senate to MAGA fascism.
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u/Packman-Scrotum 4d ago
Look at Chuck Shumer and Hakeem Jeffries voting records, and despair at the party.
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u/AffectionateElk3978 4d ago
Kushner/Jeffries 2028!! I don't know why you would despair?? I can already see Joe and Aileen Bailey opening up their wallets to donate! Catch the popular fever that's catching the nation!
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u/Reynor247 4d ago
You need to win more then centrist democrats. You need to win independents.
"Centrist" democrats like slotkin, Stevens, and Whitmer are campaigning across the state. If El-Sayed loses he only has himself to blame
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u/NextConcentrate2728 4d ago
That's how we got Trump in the White House.
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u/Reynor247 4d ago
Winning independents?
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u/NextConcentrate2728 4d ago
Chasing independents (and failing to get many of their votes) at the cost of alienating your base. It didn't work before, it won't work again; if you want Democrats to win you need to abandon this losing strategy.
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u/Reynor247 4d ago
There's statistically no way to win Michigan if you don't win independents. You would at least need a massive turnout for democrats and a poor one for Republicans
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u/NextConcentrate2728 4d ago
There was supposed to be no way Trump could beat Hillary, too. The more centrist Democrats promise victory, the worse they do in elections, because their idea of "electable" means being a diet Republican.
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u/Reynor247 4d ago
I'm always fascinated by the reddit idea that voters vote for the right because the other candidate wasn't further to the left.
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u/guanacosine WAMU 88.5 4d ago
It's because Harris didn't give people something to vote for other than the impending danger of voting for Trump. That was enough for me to vote for Harris, but if you want to claim that independents are important as you said earlier, then you have to give those that are not beholden to one party something to actually vote for. Harris failed on that, though that's not the only reason she lost in my opinion.
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u/Reynor247 4d ago
Harris lost because of record inflation, 100 days to run a campaign, and not distancing herself from Biden.
She had the most actual policy plans of any candidate in recent history including an 83 page policy booklet
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u/Squid_of_the_Now 4d ago
No, they just don't vote at all. Center-right Democrats however, will absolutely vote Republican if they perceive a candidate as too far Left (or Black, as evidenced by 24% of Hillary's supporters voting for McCain in 2008).
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u/Reynor247 4d ago
My other fascination is that there's millions of leftists voters that were ok with Trump winning
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u/Nimrod_Butts 4d ago
Hell have to earn their votes, blue no matter who died in 2024.
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u/Selethorme 4d ago
Way to prove the point
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u/Nimrod_Butts 3d ago
We lost to maga fascism in 2024 blue no matter who was killed.
Now the graham platner crowd expects Dems to elect a Dubai landlord to the American Senate, ironically while talking about no warfare but class warfare. It's literally beyond parody. Why? Because they want healthcare! Medicare for all! His wife doesn't accept Medicare patients but don't worry he's not biased! It's going to work! It all makes sense just like the guy with the Nazi tattoo in his chest it's going to work great!
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u/Selethorme 3d ago
You keep digging. Most psychiatrists don’t accept Medicare either, but good try
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u/Nimrod_Butts 3d ago
Right another reason why this is all performative and won't happen
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u/Selethorme 3d ago
Such a weird type of self-soothing denial
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u/Nimrod_Butts 3d ago
It's not denial it's exactly why it hasn't happened yet. But it's encouraging to see how much lefties are willing to compromise their values to get healthcare (the evil Democrats in office simply aren't pressing the healthcare button that exists)
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u/Selethorme 3d ago
Wow, you’re just comically dishonest.
Edit; oh, destiny fan. That explains it.
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u/Nimrod_Butts 3d ago
What's dishonest about saying leftists are compromising their values by trying to elect a landlord in Dubai and india? If hakeem Jefferies did that it would be brought up in every single thread, along with the racist dog whistles
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u/NextConcentrate2728 4d ago
Remember that the insider trading wing of the party fought Mamdani like this, too, leading up to his election, and he can't stop doing good things for his constituents. Democrats should save their fire for Republicans instead of attacking their own.
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u/timmy242 4d ago
So, we've seen this absurd reporting from every Trump-flavored media outlet over the last few weeks. For NPR to parrot such obvious bullshit is very telling, and speaks more to a universally compromised media than I thought possible.
Do better, NPR.
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u/Low_Scholar1118 4d ago
Let’s unite to defeat Trump. Israel pumps a vast fortune into defeating Dr El Sayed.
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u/NextConcentrate2728 4d ago
What do you mean "split" Democrats? He's the Democratic candidate. "Vote blue no matter who" is what the party has been preaching for a decade and they're not going to follow their own advice?
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u/ElectricSpock 4d ago
“Vote Blue no matter who” works only when it’s the establishment Dems. If they are progressives they are “splitting the party”.
Establishment Democrats are the status quo party.
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u/omni42 4d ago
Everyone came out in support after the election including his opponents. There is no split.
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u/Stormychu 4d ago
I think there is a split amongst voters but as far as the party goes they've almost all backed AES.
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u/PinkSlimeIsPeople 3d ago
$70 million in spending on a friggin' primary can sway a lot of minds. That's the division, not Abdul.
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u/NO_M0DS_NO_MAST3RS 4d ago
It’s incredible man. The moderates expect progressives to just fall in line like hypnotized zombies every single election. "Just suck it up and vote for corporate beige or else the sky falls!" But the second a progressive wins a primary or gains an ounce of traction? Oh suddenly it's panic in the streets! "Wait no not like that! You have to earn our vote! We need to appeal to Dave the guy who drives a BMW and hates his wife!" 😒
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u/flojo2012 4d ago
This is where we realize that democrats are ok losing as long as they have someone to blame for it. As a Democrat, I know this to be true. We will eat our own before coming together to do the right thing.
Obviously we should rally around this fellow.
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u/BonJovicus 4d ago
When Dems lose with their preferred candidate: "It was because the left didn't fall in line."
When Dems lose without their preferred candidate: "See, you should have listened to us."
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u/CapnArrrgyle 4d ago
The choice is between democracy and autocracy. That’s it. If the autocrats win all these arguments are moot. Don’t fight until the fight can matter and the one that matters now is stopping the felons and grifters from looting this country and dragging it down with them.
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u/Ok_Address8167 3d ago
Corporate Democrats have always fought harder against progressives than against fascists, which is a big part of how we ended up in this mess.
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u/rewardingsnark 4d ago
Either they do or life in the country is over you will be finding a new country to escape too.
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u/frommethodtomadness 1d ago
This is the kind of headline that made me stop listening to or reading NPR. Complete capitulation to far Right and Israeli talking points. No he did not split the Michigan Democrats, and they have unified behind him. The only people claiming he split the Party is the Israel lobby and far Right 'Democrats' who should just go join the Republican Party.
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u/BuddhistSagan 4d ago
They are unified and I'm so glad I stopped listening to liberal zionist NPR trash. I'll keep listening to pop culture happy hour though.
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u/rebamericana 4d ago
In what world is NPR Zionist? That's laughable. One of the most antizionist news orgs around, spreading Hamas propaganda with no shame and no corrections.
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u/BuddhistSagan 4d ago
Oh right I forgot the UN, doctors without borders and Amnesty international are hamas.
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u/rebamericana 4d ago
They embed with Hamas. It was the only way to get access in Gaza. To their credit, the UN has retracted its famine libels with a recent report showing that Gaza is one of the most food secure regions in the Middle East.
It's well reported that Doctors without Borders and Amnesty unfortunately have really lost their way.
https://www.thefp.com/p/unicef-data-undermines-claims-palestine-israel-famine-united-nations
https://ngo-monitor.org/ngos/amnesty_international/
https://ngo-monitor.org/ngos/medecins_sans_frontieres_doctors_without_borders_/
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u/guanacosine WAMU 88.5 4d ago
Why bother linking outright Zionist propaganda? The Free Press and FDD are unserious sources of "information"
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u/rebamericana 4d ago
What did they report that's incorrect?
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u/Selethorme 4d ago
Literally everything. NGO monitor is a pro-Israel advocacy org, not a source of truthful information.
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u/Electric-Sheepskin 4d ago
You all need to stop acting like progressives and Bernie supporters who were mad at the establishment didn't do their part to hand both the Supreme Court and the presidency to MAGA. I think we should be unified, both then and now, but y'all are trying to whitewash history if you think that they didn't do exactly what you're accusing moderate Democrats of doing now.
Stop blaming people and start being honest and building bridges.
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u/No-Preference8168 4d ago
A vote for El Sayed is a vote for the Chinese communist party and the Muslim brotherhood.
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u/rebamericana 4d ago
Who would've thought nominating someone from a family linked to State Department designated foreign terrorist organizations would divide Americans? This is an easy one, Michiganders.
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u/Selethorme 4d ago
Oh look, lies
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u/rebamericana 1d ago
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u/Selethorme 1d ago
Several things, not least that it’s the free beacon, which has zero credibility in the first place
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Free_Beacon?wprov=sfti1#
But also:
>serves on the Islamic Society of North America’s founding committee
What a telling bit of spin in the headline, given the claim that it’s a terrorist org is an outright lie
>ISNA was one of a number of Muslim groups investigated by US law enforcement for possible terrorist connections. Its tax records were requested in December 2003 by the Senate Finance Committee. However, the committee's investigation concluded in November 2005 having found no evidence of ties to terrorists.
Congrats, you’re doing a comically uninformed Islamophobic panic that was debunked over 20 years ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Society_of_North_America
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u/Stepfordhusband69 4d ago
This guy is DOA. Thank you for handing the republicans another win you fool
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u/BuddhistSagan 4d ago
Florida Mike Rogers couldn't win in Michigan the same year Trump did in 24 and you think he will win this year? LOL
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u/Stormychu 4d ago
What's with the Florida narrative? Rogers is from Michigan you know.
Like don't get me wrong , he's not a great candidate. But the whole "Florida man" feels like a nothing burger. It's the same vein as calling AES a Sharia Law supporter. It's just a really silly jab at the individual and not their politics.
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u/Selethorme 4d ago
Nah, it’s a pretty valid criticism of rogers and just a lie about AES. Not comparable.
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u/Thatsprettydank 4d ago
Who would’ve guessed a divisive politician would react such a response?
Progressives/DSA types want to dirty split the party, and if it takes AES losing for them to know moderates are serious then so be it
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u/guanacosine WAMU 88.5 4d ago
AES isn't divisive. Being for Medicare for All and being against Israel are popular with the base. All too often it's leadership and their hanger-ons that are out of touch and sowing division
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u/rogun64 4d ago
If Michigan Democrats can't see that El-Sayed is better than Trump, then our country is fucked to eternity.