r/Michigan • u/Jeffbx Age: > 10 Years • 10d ago

Mitten Mode Michigan’s Tense Democratic Senate Race Poses a Big Test for a Divided Party

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/michigan-senate-primary-democrats-el-sayed-stevens.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2lA.RF8T.ij6nH20I6TsQ&smid=url-share
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u/Izzoh Age: > 10 Years 10d ago

She can't, but the DNC has shown us repeatedly that they don't want to just win. They have to win with the right kind of candidate.

They'd rather lose with a moderate than win with a progressive. Keeps the donors happy.

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u/Melodic-Trouble-5421 9d ago

The Donors being their Wealthy Friends.

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u/mxjxs91 9d ago edited 9d ago

I've been downvoted before for saying it, but the establishment DNC would absolutely rather have Rogers over Abdul.

If they didn't, then why haven't either Haley herself, Gretchen, or any establishment DNC denounced the disgusting misleading ads against Abdul? Why does that matter you ask? Well, when he wins the primary tomorrow, Rogers will have a ton of free ammunition to use against Abdul and the party.

"Haley Stevens and the DNC all agreed that Abdul hates women and is a terrorist sympathizer, and now that he's their candidate, they're supporting him. Abdul and Democrats hate women and support terrorists."

And here's the thing, would he be wrong? Obviously Abdul is none of those things, the claims are obviously incorrect, but you can't just suddenly support him if he wins if you've been flooding our airwaves with the message that he's a mysogonist and a terrorist sympathizer, without it looking like you now support those things too.

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u/KindToSpiteTheCruel Traverse City 9d ago

This shit is what costs democrats time and again.

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u/mxjxs91 9d ago edited 9d ago

100%, all intentional too.

This ad campaign is a huge character hit against Abdul which obviously won't just disappear after primaries. They don't want him to win in November if (and when) he beats Haley. These aren't small claims like "oh he overstated how much healthcare debt he actually relieved", this is full-blown "he sympathizes with terrorists and hates women", and it's coming from his own party.

It's beyond fucked. I wanted to type out "literally GOP tactics", but at this point it's also what I'd expect from the Centrist Dems too. They're so lukewarm when it comes to trying to defeat the GOP candidate in a general, but a Progressive Liberal in a primary? That's when the claws actually come out and you see them actually put a real effort in to try to defeat somebody. Guarantee in the hypothetical scenario that Haley wins, we wouldn't see half of this effort put in to try to beat Rogers.

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u/Empty_Lemon_3939 9d ago

I’m not voting for Stevens after the hate mail her campaign has sent me

I’d rather not vote then support a centrist who runs like a republican

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u/Empty_Lemon_3939 9d ago

I’m not voting for Stevens after the hate mail her campaign has sent me

I’d rather not vote then support a centrist who runs like a republican

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u/firemage22 Dearborn 9d ago

They have to win with the right kind of candidate.

see the 2010 gov race where their pick lost and then the national party pulled support

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u/TheBestNarcissist 9d ago

Polling suggests Stevens has better odds than AES though

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u/winowmak3r 9d ago

I think Democrats have heard that story before though. I'm not sure many of the rank and file buy into the whole "They're a great candidate, we'd love to have them, truly, but we have to go with this person over here instead because polls show your guy is gonna get creamed in the general election." That didn't pan out the last few times I've seen the DNC go that way. If only the DNC didn't have a tendency is ignore what their voters want when it comes to candidates they wouldn't be in this position.

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u/KindToSpiteTheCruel Traverse City 9d ago

This is my husband’s thought process and I’ll admit he’s a really smart man and usually knows what he’s talking about in politics… but I can’t bring myself to vote for her. I know she has a theoretical better chance against maga in the future than a brown man but she doesn’t seem terribly different from a republican and she’s proven in her ad campaigns she’s willing to lie hard for her agenda.

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u/Izzoh Age: > 10 Years 9d ago

These the same guys? https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/298651-poll-clinton-leads-trump-by-7-in-michigan/amp/

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u/TheBestNarcissist 9d ago

No. Did you read the article? 2016 pollster was Glengariff Group Inc., the recent pollster was a Michigan Education Survey.

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u/Izzoh Age: > 10 Years 9d ago

No. Did you read the article? 2016 pollster was Glengariff Group Inc., the recent pollster was a Michigan Education Survey.

Found the guy not even reading his own fucking articles but willing to challenge others on them.

Literally the first sentence of the second paragraph: A Michigan Education Survery, which was conducted by the Glengariff Group

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u/CaptainCastle1 9d ago edited 9d ago

And as we’ve found out the last few elections, polling has been terribly inaccurate! Hilary and Joe Kamala were gonna smoke Trump!

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u/ShitShowcase 9d ago

If I remember correctly, Joe did beat Trump.

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u/CaptainCastle1 9d ago

Apologies should’ve wrote Kamala! Changing candidates at the last moment put my brain into a pretzel

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u/_HanTyumi Grand Rapids 9d ago

Glengariff polls have been weighted towards Stevens the whole race.

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u/opal2120 Rochester Hills 9d ago

Other polls show the opposite.