Michigan's Democratic Senate Primary Needs a Non-Aggression Pact

Polls show the three-way slugfest between Abdul El-Sayed, Mallory McMorrow, and Haley Stevens is dragging them all down and creating a pickup opportunity for the GOP.

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/05/15/michigan-democratic-senate-primary-non-aggression-pact/


Friendly Fire: Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed, and Mallory McMorrow are battling for Michigan’s Democratic Senate nomination, but the bruising fight may be helping Republican Mike Rogers most.

Bruising primaries do not always produce weakened nominees. They can usefully vet and stress-test candidates, toughening them up for the general election. Barack Obama in 2008 and Bill Clinton in 1992 are famous examples of Democratic presidential candidates who survived having their dirty laundry aired during the primary season. But a divisive contest can hobble a nominee. Ask Hillary Clinton.

Whether the Democrats’ toughest Senate primaries this year will help or harm nominees won’t be known until November. So far, James Talarico in Texas and Graham Platner in Maine appear in good shape for their fall campaigns, with both leading in the most recently sampled polls (although neither race has been tested in the past month, and Texas Republicans have yet to settle on their nominee). The Iowa primary between Josh Turek and Zach Wahls, both state legislators, is sharp, yet an April poll has each slightly ahead of the presumptive GOP nominee.

On top of that, Democratic Senate candidates in North Carolina and Alaska are leading in what limited polling we have. (Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper became the Democratic nominee without serious primary competition. Alaska’s ranked choice voting system does not have party primaries, but the Democrats have coalesced around former Representative Mary Peltola.)

The polling data in these mostly red states is in line with the Democratic overperformance we have consistently seen in off-year and special elections since Trump retook office, with the Democratic lead in the generic congressional ballot, which recently cracked six points in the Real Clear Politics average, pointing to a Blue Wave midterm election. This makes the Senate poll data coming from Michigan so concerning for Democrats.

snip