DETROIT — Former Detroit Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed spoke Wednesday morning in downtown Detroit after clinching Michigan's Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday's primary election. The race garnered attention across the country and was one of the most expensive ever.
Stevens called El-Sayed to concede the race Wednesday morning.
"We took on a machine," El-Sayed said. "You're not supposed to be able to beat $70 million of spending. What we showed is that the power of our many is greater than the power of their money."
Stevens, the more moderate candidate who was backed by several established Democrats—including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer—vastly outspent El-Sayed during the campaign.
El-Sayed, however, cited his grassroots campaign, which was built "brick by brick." The progressive candidate's campaign cited Medicare for all, affordable housing and worker bargaining rights.
He vowed to unite Democrats, including the moderates who supported his primary rival Stevens.
"She is one of the most committed public servants that you'll ever meet. She loves democracy like I love democracy," El-Sayed said of Stevens. "Whatever differences we might have had in the primary, it pales in comparison to what unifies us, the recognition that so long as we want to keep our democracy, that democracy had better be working for people."
El-Sayed also focused on his November opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, whom he described as a "corporate sellout."
"If you're willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes," El-Sayed said.
He went on and challenged Rogers to meet for five debates before the Nov. 3 election.
Rogers, who ran unopposed with President Donald Trump's backing in Tuesday's primary, called El-Sayed an "extremist."
"For more than 25 years, one party has controlled Michigan's two Senate seats — and they've run our state into the ground … And now the same failed politicians are asking us to send Abdul El-Sayed to Washington. Abdul isn't just another liberal. He's an extremist," Rogers said in a statement.
El-Sayed, 41, is the son of an Egyptian immigrant who was born in Michigan and grew up in Oakland County. He graduated from Bloomfield Hills Andover High School and did his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan.
El-Sayed earned support from key progressive figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He also earned the backing from the United Auto Workers Union.
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