Key facts
- Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic primary for the US Senate in Michigan.
- Democrats, including Senate leadership, are uniting behind El-Sayed for the general election.
- Republicans are debating the effectiveness of using progressive wins to attack Democrats on socialism.
- Donald Trump referred to El-Sayed as a 'Communist loser'.
- Aipac plans to support a Republican candidate against El-Sayed.
Abdul El-Sayed has won the Democratic primary for the US Senate in Michigan, a victory that signals a potential shift in Democratic strategy. Despite initial backing for his opponent, Haley Stevens, leading Democrats are now rallying behind the former public health official. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, chair of the Democratic Senate campaign arm, stated their intention to work with El-Sayed to win the seat in November's midterm elections.
El-Sayed's win could challenge the traditional Democratic playbook of requiring candidates in swing states to run from the center. Republicans, meanwhile, are reportedly using progressive victories in Michigan to attack Democrats, though some within the GOP express skepticism about focusing on socialism as a campaign message. Donald Trump has labeled El-Sayed a 'Communist loser' amid this debate. Additionally, Aipac has announced it will support a Republican candidate against El-Sayed, following significant spending on his Democratic primary opponent.
In other news, Erica Schwartz was confirmed by the US Senate as the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a 51-44 vote. Separately, investigations by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Legal Agenda concluded that an Israeli airstrike in April that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her colleague Zeinab Faraj constituted a war crime.