A victory for El-Sayed in Michigan could be a loss for Democrats nationally

Progressives may be on the cusp of winning the battle only to lose the war.

Michigan Democrats have spent years building one of the party’s most successful statewide operations, but Abdul el Sayed’s rise in the Senate primary is testing whether the coalition that powered those victories can survive the party’s deepening ideological divisions. Ahead of Tuesday’s primary to replace retiring Sen.

Haley Stevens wants to move legislation. Abdul El-Sayed wants to move the debate. But first, one of them has to keep the seat blue.

Michigan's Democratic U.S. Senate primary has become a battle over more than a nomination.