Progressives Try for a Purple State
Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed is campaigning in Michigan, tapping into voter disillusionment with the Democratic Party establishment. The article explores the internal party divisions that could impact the upcoming Senate race.
Why it matters
Illustrates the growing ideological rift within the Democratic Party and the challenges of maintaining a coalition in key swing states.
Michigan could give them their biggest prize yet.
From left: Representative Pramila Jayapal, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Abdul El-Sayed, and Senator Chris Van Hollen in Ferndale, Michigan, on July 25 ( Nic Antaya for The Atlantic ) July 29, 2026, 4:26 PM ET Share Save Y ou won’t find a much harsher critic of the Democratic Party than the progressive trying to secure its nomination for Senate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed. When I caught up with him last week in Ann Arbor, he was at a café holding an outdoor roundtable with young voters, many of them college students or recent graduates. The normally voluble El-Sayed, drinking matcha and dressed casually in his signature tight black T-shirt and jeans, listened as much as he talked, and he heard the students describe their disillusionment with politics—and especially with Democratic candidates.
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