Is the nonsocialist Democratic establishment fooling itself?

Published July 31, 2026 7:00am ET



It looked like the tide was turning in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan.

Fresh off socialist Graham Platner’s implosion in Maine, a poll came out showing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) shellacking progressive Abdul el Sayed among black and working-class voters. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), who had beaten el Sayed in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, led Michigan Democratic officials in circling the wagons around Stevens.

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