The Michigan Senate primary exposed an inconvenient rift in the Democratic coalition. Abdul El-Sayed, the Israel-obsessed anti-capitalist candidate, narrowly defeated the establishment choice, Haley Stevens, by racking up huge margins among college-educated white voters. Most black and working-class voters preferred Stevens—notwithstanding El-Sayed’s shady financial arrangement with a prominent black pastor who endorsed him days before the election.
As much as Democrats would like to patch things up after a bitterly contested race, there’s reason to believe the unpleasantness could fester regardless of how the midterms play out. Republican nominee Mike Rogers is already working to win over disaffected black, working-class, and Jewish voters heading into the general election.
Meanwhile, El-Sayed’s efforts to rebuild the coalition may prove complicated given the company he keeps. One of the first videos Republicans put out after the election was a compilation of El-Sayed surrogate Hasan Piker disparaging black people on his Twitch livestream.
“Any other black folk want to engage in radical activist language in this fucking chat? Suck my fucking cock,” Piker said in 2025. He was responding to a commenter who criticized his assessment of black voting behavior and pointed out that he was far more interested in the Gaza conflict while ignoring the ongoing slaughter of black civilians in Sudan.
Last month, Piker lashed out at Rep. Jim Clyburn (D., S.C.), one of the party’s most prominent and respected black leaders. He’s not someone whom an ambitious Democrat or activist would typically choose to antagonize. Piker wasn’t pleased when the DNC chose South Carolina to host the first primary of the 2028 election. Why not? Because the state’s predominately black electorate has historically favored moderate candidates over left-wing firebrands.
“I also think an 88 year old man (he will be that age by 2028) should almost single handedly decide the early front runner in the dem primaries,” Piker sneered sarcastically.
Will Lawrence, one of two left-wing candidates El-Sayed successfully backed in Michigan’s congressional primaries, has been more explicit in his animosity toward the Democratic Party’s black elders. “The extent to which the older generation of Black political leadership are such a pillar, frankly, for establishment, capitalist, imperialist American power … it’s a big problem,” he said in 2024. “It really defangs the white left and puts us in impossible positions, really.”
Lawrence, who is white, has not apologized for those remarks but has since expressed “regret” for “how this specific point was expressed.” After winning his primary, Lawrence told CNN he was looking forward to “having conversations very soon with members of the [Congressional Black Caucus] to unite.” Sounds like fun!
The Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Stevens in Michigan. So did Clyburn, who was a diehard supporter and major campaign surrogate for Joe Biden. That’s another source of contention between the factions. For example, Piker endorsed the Uncommitted campaign in 2024, which urged Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in the presidential primary to protest Biden’s support for Israel.
El-Sayed played a more direct role in supporting the anti-Biden campaign, which began in Michigan before branching out to other states. Thanks in part to his activism in the Islamic community, “uncommitted” received more than 100,000 votes in the Michigan primary, or roughly 13 percent of the total.
“Black people have a right to be pissed off about the uncommitted stuff. There’s going to need to be some healing, big time,” Keith Williams, the chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Black Caucus, told the Detroit News. “And don’t just think that Black folks will fall in line. They need to talk to us.”
Piker expressed a relatively different view on whether El-Sayed should seek to make amends with skeptical black voters. “Everyone being like, ‘Abdul has a fuck-ton of work to do mending bridges,’ here’s the fucking take nuke for you, OK? You are all unbelievably Islamophobic pieces of shit,” he said this week. “You’re gonna sit there and be like, ‘Well, you know, [he’s] really got to come to me now.’ Like, what are you talking about? Do you want to fucking win or not?”
El-Sayed does not appear to be taking his buddy’s advice to heart. He reportedly enlisted a “third party” to get in touch with Maryland governor Wes Moore (D.), the only black governor in the country (and a serial fabulist). He’s scheduled to speak at a “unity rally” in Detroit on Friday that will feature a guest appearance by Pete Buttigieg, the former presidential candidate best known for achieving a statistically insignificant level of support among black voters.
Good luck to all!
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