Democrats in Detroit will gather Friday in a show of unity behind their statewide candidates, three days after a bitter U.S. Senate primary highlighted divisions between the progressive and moderate wings of the party. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who narrowly beat establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens in a contentious primary for an open Senate seat, will be the most closely watched candidate at the event.
With less than three months before the general election where El-Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, the Democratic Party is under pressure to close ranks in a race that will help determine control of the Senate.
"The things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us," El-Sayed said in a Wednesday speech.
Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential presidential candidate who lives in Michigan, is also slated to attend on Friday.
Current Democratic Sen. Gary Peters' decision to not seek reelection left the seat open. Michigan is a perennial battleground state, having voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump again in 2024.
Stevens, who lost the primary by just under 1 percentage point, told CBS News on Thursday she was willing to campaign with El-Sayed. "Whatever he wants me to do," she said.
Gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, who easily won her primary, is scheduled to attend the event as well. She will face Trump-backed Rep. John James in the general election.
Also slated to attend will be Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, who is running for secretary of state; Eli Savit, who is running for attorney general; and Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party.