NH Progressives Cheer El-Sayed Victory: 'New Hampshire Is Next'

By Leonard Robinson, NH Journal

It’s more than 700 miles from Detroit to Manchester, but that’s not a roadblock for Granite State progressives hoping to catch the same left-wing wave that lifted Dr. Abdul El-Sayed to victory in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

El-Sayed, an unapologetic progressive and harsh critic of America’s support for Israel, narrowly defeated the more moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.

While El-Sayed didn’t win by the double-digit margin predicted by public polls, his victory is still being praised by Granite State Democrats who say it’s a sign their party — and the country — is shifting to the political left.

“A movement is building across this country. From New York to Colorado to Michigan, voters are rejecting corporate-backed politicians and choosing candidates who will challenge the status quo and deliver for working people,” said Karishma Manzur, who’s hoping to upset U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

“New Hampshire is next.”

Progressive Democrats in the NH-01 primary are also touting El-Sayed’s victory.

“Abdul El-Sayed’s win in the Michigan primary shows that the Democratic Party is in a state of growth and change; we are redefining who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to move forward,” said Sarah Chadzynski, a former teacher who has worked with international nonprofits.

State Rep. Heath Howard (D-Strafford) has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and is running in what might be called the “Mamdani lane” of the NH-01 primary. Asked about El-Sayed’s narrow margin of victory after polls showed him with a big lead, Howard pointed to the money.

“Abdul was outspent 10 to 1, faced endless smears and had tons of outside money flowing in to stop him, yet the people still chose him,” Howard said. “That’s the result I’m working to see in New Hampshire.”

El-Sayed has staked out extreme positions on issues ranging from Israel to defunding the police.

Asked during an interview whether Israel has a right to exist, El-Sayed declined to say yes. He instead argued that Israel’s existence “is not a question.”

El-Sayed generated another controversy after the February killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli airstrike.

In leaked audio from a private campaign call, El-Sayed told staff members he wanted to avoid commenting on Khamenei’s death.

“I also want to remind you guys that there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad today,” El-Sayed said.

During the primary, he repeatedly denied ever supporting the “defund the police” movement. However, CNN subsequently uncovered interviews and deleted social media posts from 2020 in which El-Sayed explicitly endorsed the movement.

“We do need to defund the police,” El-Sayed said during a Detroit Public Radio interview.

He also supports abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

El-Sayed spent the weekend before the election campaigning with Hasan Piker, the far-left online personality who has said America “deserved 9/11” and that he did not “have an issue” with the terrorist group Hezbollah.

None of that stopped the Michigan Democrat from earning the support of New England U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“Congrats @AbdulElSayed! Michigan voters sent a powerfully important message that the many can beat the money,” Warren posted.

None of New Hampshire’s elected Democrats endorsed him, however. In fact, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen endorsed his opponent just days before the election.

“Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is on Team Stevens!” the Stevens campaign announced Friday. “I’m honored to have the support of Sen. Shaheen in the race for U.S. Senate.”

Shaheen has not commented or endorsed El-Sayed in the wake of Stevens’ defeat.

While Pappas has remained silent on the race, the two Republicans hoping to challenge him in the fall say he’ll be an El-Sayed ally if he’s sent to the Senate.

“If you look at the policies and positions of Chris Pappas, they mirror, almost to a T, the policies of the DSA,” said Scott Brown. “New Hampshire does not want a senator who aligns so closely with the radical policies of the DSA. I am running to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

Mike Schrimpf, spokesman for the John E. Sununu U.S. Senate campaign, said Pappas is “catering to the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party because he knows that he could be next. He voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi more than 99 percent of the time, voted ‘present’ when asked to take a position on Israel, and even refused to join Maggie Goodlander in rejecting socialism.

“Pappas keeps checking his rearview mirror because he knows Karishma Manzur is even closer than she appears.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.