MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
After big wins in Michigan, progressive candidates are showing staying power beyond blue states, beyond safe seats. Epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed is now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. He will face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in one of the highest-stakes contests this fall. That race is already starting - new ads, new barbs being fired back and forth. Here to talk it through, NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith. Hey, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hello.
KELLY: OK. So where does the race go from here now that El-Sayed has won against Congresswoman Haley Stevens in Michigan, this really closely watched contest.
KEITH: Yes. And I would like to linger for just a moment on how expensive and how bitter that primary was. But once the race was called, finally, late this morning, Stevens put out a statement throwing her support behind El-Sayed. And he held a press conference where he began trying to mend some of the wounds of the primary. And what better way to do that than to turn to his next opponent.
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ABDUL EL-SAYED: Because the campaign that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump and their GOP MAGA allies are launching is already more bitter. All you got to do is look at the ads you're already watching on TV - started today. You know, they think that you want to use my whole name against me. Mike, listen, man, if you can't say the name - it's Abdulrahman - keep the name out your d*** mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Yeah.
KEITH: The race hadn't even been called yet when the National Republican Senatorial Committee announced its first digital ad full of grainy images of El-Sayed meant to look menacing.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, the most radical Senate candidate in America.
KELLY: Tam, that is the National Republican Senatorial Committee. What about the Republican in the race - Mike Rogers? What's he saying today?
KEITH: Well, in a Fox News interview this morning, Rogers said this race is about the heart and soul of the country, calling El-Sayed radical and extreme. Disqualifying your opponent is always a big part of campaigns, and we can expect a lot more of this. Another ad in rotation from a Republican super PAC labels him a communist. This is precisely what establishment Democrats were warning would happen if primary voters nominated a progressive outsider like El-Sayed. But the argument from progressives is that Republicans would have done the same thing with a boring, normie Democrat.
KELLY: (Laughter) OK. I mean, just to lay out the stakes here for everyone who is not a voter in Michigan, this has a big import for where things go in November - control of the U.S. Senate.
KEITH: Yeah. The Senate seat is currently held by a Democrat, and with El-Sayed as nominee, Republicans see this as a big pickup opportunity. They've already booked tens of millions in TV ad reservations for the fall, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact. But El-Sayed has proven to be a candidate who really speaks to voters' economic concerns and frustration with a political system where working people feel like they just can't get ahead. This year, there is this strong anti-incumbent sentiment. There's low approval for the president and his party, and Rogers is a former congressman endorsed by Trump, sort of the ultimate insider.
KELLY: Go back to progressives, because El-Sayed wasn't the only progressive who won yesterday - two other congressional races, including, really, I think, the only true toss-up House district in Michigan, insurgent Democrats won. What's the broader takeaway?
KEITH: Yeah. Democratic primary voters are not playing it safe anymore. President Trump's return to the White House caused a real rupture between engaged Democratic voters and the party establishment. And Michigan is an especially important test case. The state's primary is early in the presidential nominating contest in 2028. And, you know, winning primaries isn't enough. This play for influence for progressives only works if El-Sayed wins in November.
KELLY: NPR's Tamara Keith, thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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