Sen. Jeanne Shaheen endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens over progressive challenger Abdul El-Sayed this week in Michigan’s Democrat Senate primary, the latest establishment figure to close ranks behind the moderate as the party’s left wing surges in the final stretch.
The New Hampshire Democrat is the latest in a run of senators to back Stevens, a four-term congresswoman. The endorsement lands as polling shows El-Sayed pulling ahead with days left before the August 4 vote. Stevens announced the support on X and thanked the retiring senator.
“Senator Jeanne Shaheen is on Team Stevens,” Stevens wrote. “I’m honored to have the support of Senator Shaheen in the race for U.S. Senate. She’s a fighter for working families who knows how to win tough races.”
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) got behind Stevens early. Gary Peters (D-MI) is retiring from the seat she wants, and he endorsed her too. So did Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
The party keeps lining up behind Stevens, but El-Sayed keeps winning anyway. The former Wayne County health director has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and he now leads. A new Emerson College poll put him ahead 54 percent to 39 percent. Push the undecideds and the margin grows to 57-41. Voters under 50 broke for El-Sayed by 42 points. Voters over 60 went to Stevens by 14. Independents backed El-Sayed by 27.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) endorsed El-Sayed and took a shot at the money flowing into the race for Stevens.
“He is the fighter Michigan needs in the Senate,” Warren claimed in a video posted to X. “Michiganders deserve a senator who will fight for you, not for special interests running millions of dollars in TV ads to buy this seat.”
The primary has turned into a proxy war between the party’s establishment and its socialist wing. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and affiliated groups have poured roughly $30 million into boosting Stevens, the most the pro-Israel lobby has ever spent on a single race. Israel has become the central dividing line, with Stevens describing herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat” and El-Sayed accusing the country of genocide in Gaza.
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