Mayor Mamdani Wednesday praised Abdul El-Sayed and predicted the newly minted Democratic Senate nominee can win in swing-state Michigan with a similar progressive message to the one Hizzoner rode to victory in deep-blue New York City.
“To win this race … is a testament to what he ran on and also how he ran the campaign,” Mamdani told reporters at a City Hall press conference. “That’s the kind of work it’s going to take to ensure we are winning in November. So kudos to him.”
Mamdani noted that El-Sayed, 41, overcame a flood of $60 million in spending mostly by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that backed rival Rep. Haley Stevens. He wound up winning by a narrower-than-expected margin of about 1%.
The 34-year-old mayor said there’s no reason El-Sayed cannot win a general election in a purple Rust Belt state with the same message of affordability that resonated in the Big Apple.
“He was able to prevail with a focus on a cost-of-living crisis,” Mamdani said. “The message of money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for All is something even New Yorkers can relate to.”
Progressives have generally been on a roll in their fierce battle with moderates for ascendancy in the Democratic Party ahead of the midterms, although most of their wins have come in House and local election races, not statewide swing-state contests like the Michigan Senate race that El-Sayed won.
Three Mamdani-backed progressive candidates defeated establishment-backed choices in New York City congressional primaries, including knocking off incumbents Rep. Dan Goldman and Rep. Adriano Espaillat in two districts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
In Michigan, Donavan McKinney, a Democratic Socialists of America member, ousted incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar in a deep-blue Detroit district. And progressive William Lawrence beat two moderates to win the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Rep. Tom Barrett in one of the nations most closely watched swing districts.
Candidate comparisons
In his comments Wednesday, Mamdani dismissed superficial comparisons between himself and El-Sayed, whom some have dubbed a “mini-Mamdani” because of his eloquence and telegenic looks, noting that the Michigan man obviously spends a lot more time in the gym.
“He can lift a lot more than I can,” said Mamdani.
For his part, El-Sayed, a public health official and medical doctor, boasted that he “shook up the world” by beating Stevens, albeit by a slim margin.
He said Republicans would try to use his Arab name and heritage as a weapon against him, but predicted Michigan’s diversity would be a plus for him and called on “Jewish brothers and sisters” to get behind his campaign against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November.
“This is like the best place in the world to be called Abdul,” El-Sayed told reporters in a celebratory press conference after news outlets projected him as the winner. “Michiganders are sick and tired of BS politics coming in to divide us.”
El-Sayed signaled he would quickly pivot to kitchen table issues, an echo of Mamdani’s successful mayoral campaign where he focused on issues like freezing rent and free child care.
In reaction to his victory, President Trump on Wednesday derided El-Sayed as a “communist loser who hates Jews and Israel,” and called his win “great news for the Republican Party.”
Michigan is a far cry from New York City, raising obvious questions about whether El-Sayed can score a Mamdani-like success with a progressive playbook that includes opposition to aid for Israel, taxing billionaires and Medicare for all.
Other big Democratic winners in statewide contests since President Trump returned to the White House have almost all been moderates like New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, while progressives have scored upsets mainly in mayoral and congressional races in deep-blue districts.
El-Sayed was favored to beat Stevens by a wide margin. But the race turned out much closer than expected, with Stevens winning vote-rich Detroit and its northern suburbs, which together account for more than a third of the statewide electorate.
He outperformed with college-educated voters but struggled a bit with Black and Jewish voters, as well as older and lower-income people, polls said.
“He sweeps those (voters) with a lot of education,” said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. “But he doesn’t do so well with the white blue collars. He needs to change that.”
“Progressives still have a lot of work to do to win Black voters,” added Basil Smikle, a Columbia professor and Democratic strategist.
Stevens quickly endorsed El-Sayed along with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, the third major candidate in the race who won about 5% of the vote despite ending her campaign, offering an early boost ahead of a three-month sprint to the midterms.
Trump won Michigan in 2016 and 2024 but lost the state former President Joe Biden in 2020. Democrats need to hold all their Senate seats, including the one held by the retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan), and flip four GOP-held seats to retake the Senate.
