Democrats’ future is on the line as El-Sayed and Stevens make final push in Michigan primary
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DETROIT (AP) -- Abdul El-Sayed sat quietly alongside his wife and black political leaders in a packed Detroit church Sunday morning, clapping as the congregation sang and the pastor preached. Then he stood before the room and asked for their votes.
Less than 10 miles away, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens was making her own appeal at another black church, where one of the city's most prominent pastors made the case for her.
There were fewer than 48 hours left in Michigan's fiercely contested Democratic Senate primary. And after more than a year spent preaching starkly different visions for their party -- with tens of millions of dollars poured into the race and national attention focused on it -- both candidates had come to some of the same places looking for the votes to win it.
First, black churches. Later, union halls. Then rallies surrounded by their core supporters.
Stevens, who has been through several competitive Democratic primaries, has a name for the frenzy of the closing days: "the last word phenomenon."
"Everyone's trying to get in their last points," Stevens said.
Where the candidates chose to make those final points reflected the simple contest underneath all the money and ideological warfare: which one can assemble enough of Michigan's Democratic coalition to win Tuesday.
The primary has become one of the clearest tests yet of where Democratic voters want their party to go. El-Sayed, a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leaders on the party's left, has run against much of the Democratic establishment. Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and many of Michigan's top Democrats, has made electability and experience central to her case.
The stakes extend well beyond the primary. The nominee will need to bring a fractured Democratic coalition back together to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in November and hold an open seat that is critical to the party's hopes of taking control of the Senate next year.
Both hopefuls focused on the Detroit area, where Democratic primaries are often decided.
Democratic primaries in Michigan have long run through Detroit, where support from the city's black voters is often crucial.
El-Sayed's pitch to those voters Sunday -- during stops at three churches -- centered on a vision of economic opportunity and equal treatment.
"I believe in the kind of America where no matter where you grow up, the color of your skin, how you pray, you deserve equal rights in this country," El-Sayed told the congregation at Kingdom Covenant Church.
"You deserve to go to a good school, you deserve to get healthcare, you deserve to graduate and get a good job," he added.
El-Sayed was joined by Democratic Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as Yusef Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson who is president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Stevens and her allies have also made a direct appeal to black voters through advertisements highlighting her ties to former President Barack Obama and her work as chief of staff for his administration's auto rescue effort from 2009 to 2011.
Her campaign acknowledges that a strong showing among Detroit voters will likely be necessary for her to win Tuesday.
Reggie Williams, a longtime constituent who was supporting Stevens at an Oakland County event Sunday evening, said he continues to back her because she "has always been there for the people."
"She is out and about in the community, always has boots on the ground," Williams said.
After spending much of Sunday pursuing some of the same Democratic constituencies, El-Sayed and Stevens will take different paths across Michigan for the final full day of the primary.
El-Sayed plans to remain in Detroit, joining canvass launches and trying to turn enthusiasm in the state's largest city into votes.
Stevens will head west, making stops across West Michigan as she tries to maximize support in a region with Democratic strongholds in cities such as Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.