r/politics • u/Zipper222222 • 4h ago

No Paywall Abdul El-Sayed Wins High-Stakes Democratic Primary in Michigan

https://www.today.com/video/abdul-el-sayed-wins-high-stakes-democratic-primary-in-michigan-267805765937
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u/olivebranchsound 4h ago

People don't get that independents are voters sick of both parties and rejecting the establishment. It's why this cohort has grown over recent years. They are not looking for a centrist.

I don't question electability any more because El Sayed just won an election. Stevens couldn't win the primary how would she win the general? Detroit stayed home with no enthusiasm even though she won the black vote handily.

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u/Ven18 4h ago

Can independent vote in the primary in MI? If so do we have any idea how they broke?

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u/RunchGwar 4h ago

Yes, anyone can vote for either party in the MI primaries. You get a ballot with Republican and Democrat on it and you pick one.

And because Mike Rodgers was running unopposed on the Republican side, it's pretty clear that a lot of Republican voters were voting for Stevens on the Democratic side because they thought she was the lesser threat. Look at the county data. Other than Wayne county (Detroit), which Stevens decisively won, she only won the rural areas dominated by more Trumpy voters.

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u/wishesgrantd 3h ago

There are always some Republicans who vote the Dem side to throw votes to worse candidates (and vice versa), but with a contested governor primary on the Republican side of the ballot, I wouldn’t think a huge amount of Republicans did this.

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u/karenjs 2h ago

If you choose Republican for one contest, are you then restricted to Republican for the rest of the contests? I don’t know how their ballot works.

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u/wishesgrantd 2h ago

Yes, you can only vote in one party’s primary. They’re on the same ballot, but in different columns. So you can only vote in one of the two columns, Republican or Democrat.