Michigan’s Democratic Primary Could Hinge on Black Voters
Today, voters in Michigan head to the polls to decide one of the year’s most highly contested Democratic primaries. It’s become a political tradition where two Democrats, one entrenched in the establishment and the other a progressive (at least by comparison), go head-to-head. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed, a former public-health official who ran for governor of Michigan in 2018, have waged intense and at times personal campaigns against each other. The winner will almost certainly face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in a toss-up general election.
The ideological split has roiled the Democratic Party, as more voters become increasingly discontented with the establishment, yet constantly hear about the need to find someone electable in swing-seat races. In Michigan, this is playing out in a primary where Black people are particularly poised to influence the election’s outcome, as they constitute around a quarter of registered voters.
Stevens is a moderate Democra…