Mamdani and allies celebrate El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan

The Mamdani wing of the Democratic Party is celebrating after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens in a contentious race for U.S. Senate, dealing a defeat to the pro-Israel lobby. 

“I’d just like to congratulate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on his victory,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday morning, highlighting the record amount of money spent against El-Sayed in the primary – a situation similar to his own race last year. “What I will say is that when you are facing $60 million in outside spending, you are facing almost what feels like surround sound across a state where people are hearing a message about you again and again and again. And to win this race as someone who is not currently holding elected office, it is a testament to what he ran on, and also the way he ran the campaign.”

Mamdani said he’s spoken with El-Sayed “a few times” and met with him when he came to New York City “years ago.” He said he sees himself and El-Sayed as part of the same political movement, though he dismissed Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s description of El-Sayed as a “mini-Mamdani.” 

“I don't think in any way this man is a mini-Mamdani,” the mayor responded, joking that the muscular El-Sayed “can lift a lot more than I can.” 

“I also think that what we're talking about is someone who has shone a light on the importance of public health and healthcare in our country for years,” he added. “And I am proud to be part of a movement of politicians and candidates who are looking to put working-class Americans back at the heart of our politics, and that's our focus here in New York City.”

The mayor’s remarks Wednesday were his first comments at length about El-Sayed, even as the candidate earned comparisons to Mamdani over the past several months while gaining momentum in the closely watched primary. Mamdani has avoided getting involved in elections outside New York City, and said he has no plans to go to Michigan to campaign for El-Sayed in the general election. But many of Mamdani’s top allies – including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Rep. Jamaal Bowman and state Senate nominee Aber Kawas – made the trek to Michigan in recent weeks to campaign for El-Sayed in the primary

“This is a political revolution. Not just in New York but in America,” Bowman told City & State in a text message.

The race in Michigan had influence on both sides from prominent New York politicians. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senate Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand joined with much of the Democratic establishment to back Stevens. The two New York senators worked methodically behind the scenes to assist Stevens, even reportedly pushing for rival candidate Mallory McMorrow to drop out to try to clear the field for Stevens.

Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez were in Michigan last week, campaigning for El-Sayed on the ground. Kawas is currently in Michigan, supporting El-Sayed as well as other DSA candidates like Donavan McKinney, who defeated incumbent Detroit Rep. Shri Thanedar on Tuesday night.

“I was proud to campaign in Michigan and I am thrilled about the victories of Abdul El-Sayed, Donavan McKinney, and other candidates who will help deliver the transformative change we need in Congress,” Kawas told City & State in a text message. “As a candidate running to make life better for working people in New York, I believe we need to build a movement at the local, state, and federal level, with candidates across the country who will challenge the political establishment and have the courage to speak out against the genocide in Gaza — that’s what real leadership looks like, and voters from New York to Michigan agree.”

About 50 members of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani’s political home, also flew from New York to Michigan to campaign for DSA candidates. Although DSA did not endorse El-Sayed, who does not identify as a socialist, many DSA members who went to Michigan to canvass for DSA-backed candidates like McKinney also canvassed for El-Sayed.

“The reason I came out here is because AIPAC has spent ($30 million) in this race against Abdul, and that must mean he's doing something right,” said Ella Devi Weerackody, an NYC-DSA member and political commentator. “I'm looking to build mass politics within a mass movement and I think to engage in sectionalism is not productive.

Andrew Zink, a Saugerties Village Board Trustee and member of Mid-Hudson Valley DSA, also joined the effort. “DSA members like me are more than capable of building coalitions with people who center the working class in their policies and politics,” he said. 

El-Sayed has been endlessly compared to Mamdani. Both are younger, photogenic Muslim men who have not shied away from criticizing Israel and accusing the nation of committing genocide in Gaza. Both have faced accusations of antisemitism and an avalanche of spending by pro-Israel groups. And they do have an enemy in common, in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, spent nearly $32 million to boost Stevens, who was ultimately backed by more than $60 million in outside spending. 

El-Sayed’s defeat of a candidate backed by both the Democratic establishment and AIPAC is the latest sign that Democratic primary voters are embracing left-wing insurgents, following DSA congressional victories in New York City, Denver and Philadelphia. But the left is not unstoppable; former Rep. Cori Bush’s attempt to retake her old congressional seat from incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell in St. Louis fell badly short on Tuesday.

As the midterm elections grow closer, the two sides of the Democratic party – influenced by notable New York politicians like Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez – are battling over whose vision represents the future of the party.

El-Sayed will now face former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee, in November, in a race that will serve as a key test of whether left-wing, pro-Palestinian politics can win the day in a key swing state. If he manages to pull it off, it would strengthen the case for Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028.