{"id":12844,"date":"2026-07-31T15:21:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/is-the-nonsocialist-democratic-establishment-fooling-itself\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T15:21:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:21:50","slug":"is-the-nonsocialist-democratic-establishment-fooling-itself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/is-the-nonsocialist-democratic-establishment-fooling-itself\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the nonsocialist Democratic establishment fooling itself?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As W. James Antle III argues in <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, what initially appeared to be a turning tide in Michigan&#8217;s Senate Democratic primary has reversed course dramatically, with establishment-backed Representative <strong>Haley Stevens<\/strong> now trailing progressive challenger <strong>Abdul el Sayed<\/strong> by nearly double digits just days before Tuesday&#8217;s primary election.<\/p>\n<p>The shift comes despite a full-court press from Democratic power brokers. Governor <strong>Gretchen Whitmer<\/strong>, who defeated el Sayed in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, led Michigan Democratic officials in rallying behind Stevens. Former President <strong>Barack Obama<\/strong> remained neutral but was repeatedly invoked by the Stevens campaign to undermine her opponent.<\/p>\n<p>Early polling had shown Stevens commanding support among black and working-class voters. But four consecutive surveys now show el Sayed ahead by double digits. The RealClearPolitics average puts him up by 9.4 points heading into the primary.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-12844 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-ozqois6od-1785444157310-e1785447343919-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12841\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-ozqois6od-1785444157310-e1785447343919-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-ozqois6od-1785444157310-e1785447343919-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-ozqois6od-1785444157310-e1785447343919.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12841'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto: washingtonexaminer.com\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/troy-jackson-treasurer-el-sayed-pac-300x200.webp\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-12842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/troy-jackson-treasurer-el-sayed-pac-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/troy-jackson-treasurer-el-sayed-pac-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/troy-jackson-treasurer-el-sayed-pac.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-12842'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto: washingtonexaminer.com\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>A <strong>Tavern Research<\/strong> poll released recently showed el Sayed leading by 10 points over Stevens. The same pollster had Stevens ahead by just 1 point earlier this month, prompting el Sayed to claim at the time that the survey appeared to be funded by AIPAC. Independent fact-checkers found no evidence linking that poll to the <strong>American Israel Public Affairs Committee<\/strong>, the pro-Israel lobbying group that has become a progressive target for its heavy spending in Democratic primaries. Now that the same pollster shows el Sayed ahead outside the margin of error, his campaign has eagerly promoted the results.<\/p>\n<p>El Sayed has deployed Representative <strong>Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/strong> in television advertisements touting his support for Medicare-for-all. In the ad, a beaming Ocasio-Cortez tells viewers that el Sayed&#8217;s backing of government-run healthcare is why billionaires are spending millions to defeat him and his movement.<\/p>\n<p>Socialists and far-left activists have flooded into Michigan. While el Sayed is not a member or endorsed candidate of the <strong>Democratic Socialists of America<\/strong>, other Michigan candidates are, and DSA organizers are not ignoring his Senate race. Detroit DSA co-Chairwoman <strong>Lila Brickner<\/strong> told Politico&#8217;s Playbook that activists are canvassing for el Sayed because he is fighting for the same policies as their endorsed candidates.<\/p>\n<p>In a Zoom call with donors, el Sayed suggested that defeating the Democratic establishment would send a powerful message to party elites. <em>You put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message<\/em>, he said. He later clarified during a debate that he was not referring to Stevens but to Senator <strong>John Fetterman<\/strong>, whom he accused of abandoning the progressive values on which he campaigned.<\/p>\n<p>The pattern extends beyond Michigan. In Wisconsin, establishment attempts to block DSA-backed state Representative <strong>Francesca Hong<\/strong> from winning the Democratic gubernatorial nomination have backfired spectacularly. Hong&#8217;s lead has only expanded since Milwaukee County Executive <strong>David Crowley<\/strong> reentered the race, despite endorsements from incumbent Governor <strong>Tony Evers<\/strong>. Former Lieutenant Governor <strong>Mandela Barnes<\/strong> dropped out Thursday, apparently concluding Hong could not be stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Even in Maine, where socialist <strong>Graham Platner<\/strong> withdrew from the Senate race against Republican Senator <strong>Susan Collins<\/strong>, he was replaced by <strong>Troy Jackson<\/strong>, a candidate from the same ideological wing of the party.<\/p>\n<p>Some of these candidates have attempted to soften their positioning. El Sayed denied being a socialist in an interview with former White House press secretary <strong>Jen Psaki<\/strong> on MS NOW. Hong has walked back support for defunding the police. Jackson has tried to distance himself from Platner.<\/p>\n<p>Yet their continued competitiveness reflects a volatile mood among Democratic voters angry about repeated losses to President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong>, frustrated with their party&#8217;s entrenched leadership, and willing to consider far more radical change than the Obama era or the first-term anti-Trump resistance ever contemplated.<\/p>\n<p>The failures of former President <strong>Joe Biden<\/strong>, the defeats of <strong>Hillary Clinton<\/strong> and former Vice President <strong>Kamala Harris<\/strong>, and the inability of Senate Minority Leader <strong>Chuck Schumer<\/strong> and House Minority Leader <strong>Hakeem Jeffries<\/strong> to break through have left many Democrats with little patience for electability arguments or appeals for caution.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday&#8217;s primary results will reveal whether enough Democrats remain willing to resist this movement, or whether the party establishment has been fooling itself about its own influence all along.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><em>With information from <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington Examiner<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic establishment&#8217;s firewall crumbles as socialist-aligned Abdul el Sayed surges ahead of Representative Haley Stevens by nearly double digits in Michigan&#8217;s Senate primary despite support from Governor Whitmer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":12843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[9652,790,10074,2882,4962,2499,209],"nfg_topic":[135],"class_list":["post-12844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-abdul-el-sayed","tag-democratic-party","tag-haley-stevens","tag-michigan","tag-primary-election","tag-progressive-candidates","tag-united-states","nfg_topic-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12844"},{"taxonomy":"nfg_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nfg_topic?post=12844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}