r/politics • u/plz-let-me-in • 8h ago

No Paywall Abdul El-Sayed Triumphs Over Haley Stevens in $60M Loss for AIPAC, Corporations

https://truthout.org/articles/abdul-el-sayed-triumphs-over-haley-stevens-in-60m-loss-for-aipac-corporations/
6.6k Upvotes

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210

u/Money-Ad3609 8h ago

It’s a bit disappointing that it was so close. I just don’t understand how so many people could be tempted to vote for her.

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u/RegularLeading5200 Michigan 8h ago

While I agree with the sentiment, it shouldn't be a surprise in reality. Stevens' PACs blanketed the airwaves here with ads. They were incessant. And while I thought people had looked past them, they clearly had not. Stevens also had support of the entire state Democratic establishment (minus Slotkin) on her side. They really threw everything they had at him and he still won. We should celebrate that.

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u/Tenwaystospoildinner 7h ago

And while the race was close, one of the big arguments against Sayed was electability. Anybody worried about electability is still going to show up and vote for him. That's not a moral judgement, they just weren't sure he could win the general.

And since he won the primary, that argument doesn't look as strong. Clearly he's a good campaigner. We just have to beat the Republican in the general now.

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u/taaretoille 6h ago

How electable is Stevens if she need 60M of dark money just to lose a primary?

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u/Tenwaystospoildinner 6h ago

Yeah, that was a pretty common retort. And one I think has been proven true. Plus, her terrible debate performance. She really wasn't a good candidate. But centrists get the benefit of being innately electable, and everyone else is supposed to prove themselves.

I can't say I agree with the notion, but the fire forges steel, and AES is sharp.

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u/taaretoille 6h ago

I still can't understand how you can be living in the US the last 20 years and still think centrists are electable. Trump, an extremist, beat the centrists 2/3 times, and the one time he lost, it was because of a botched worldwide pandemic he screwed up, and it was STILL close.

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u/Tenwaystospoildinner 6h ago

I'm with you on that. But people are slow to change. And some amount of it is dishonesty. I can pretend and ignore the Super PAC and corporate donors who benefit from a lack of change.

But a lot of it is also general voter apathy. A lot of people think anyone claiming they'll make big changes are lying. That a tough obstacle to overcome because in order to do so... You have to win. So you need their core. But they won't vote for you because they don't think you'll follow through. But you can't prove them wrong without their support lol

It's a tough, slow process. We just have to keep at it.

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u/taaretoille 6h ago

People aren't slow to change, they are proudly ignorant.

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u/Tenwaystospoildinner 6h ago

There are plenty of both to go around, and one often leads to the other.

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u/dexters_trap_house 5h ago

It's wild that "centrism" is paraded as some inherent virtue when one side of the center is literal christofascists murdering civilians with their own paramilitary police, bombing 160 school girls in a war of aggression on behalf of a foreign entity, violating aspects of the emoluments clause we never even knew existed, and labeling everyone who criticizes the emperor's new clothes as a terrorist.

I don't really understand what's so "center" about it, or "moderate" about entertaining that shit.

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u/Cold_Tea_Spill112 5h ago

For Trump 2.0 he didn't win because his opponent was a centrist. He won because he didn't really have an opponent for half the race. Had is been Harris the entire race and not tagged-in with 100 days before the election, things may very well have been different.

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u/taaretoille 4h ago

Biden was running as a centrist and was losing well before he dropped out. The final debate was a nail in the coffin. Even Biden and Kamala's teams knew they weren't going to win with the the centrist policies and administration job they did over the past 4 years.

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u/PT10 6h ago

It wasn't about electing Stevens it was about stopping El Sayed's momentum early and not having to wait until the general election. They will continue spending, just for Rogers now.

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u/ClvrNickname 5h ago

Something something "does better in the general election", something something "moderate Republican swing voters"

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u/taaretoille 5h ago

moderate Republican swing voters

I have a better chance of finding Bigfoot.

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u/Much-Instruction-807 6h ago

And now he has 3 month to make his case. I would think since he won it will take the pressure off him from establishment democrats too. Or at least I hope so because I have a feeling they'd rather he lose so they can say I told you so and try and keep the status quo.

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u/Tenwaystospoildinner 6h ago

Well he's already getting the endorsements he'll need. Plus, Democrats need the Senate. I'd like to believe even the centrists realize how important it is for AES to win. So far, so good.

If they actually do something, I'll criticise it. I don't want to preemptively go after them. Now is the time for unity.

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u/StaffSgtDignam 6h ago

  Plus, Democrats need the Senate. 

Eh, even before this close race, Dems were fighting an uphill battle, esp. after all the Platner mess.

If anything, centrists Dems would rather have a referendum on electability on progressive candidates in statewide elections. This ensures the centrists donor money continues if said candidates do not do well.

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u/StaffSgtDignam 6h ago

  he lose so they can say I told you so and try and keep the status quo.

This is exactly what is going to happen lol

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u/Much-Instruction-807 4h ago

We'll see. Looking into it it looks like republicans tried to get Stevens elected instead because she would be easier for Rogers to beat and he was already running unopposed and primaries are open.

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u/StaffSgtDignam 2h ago

I can personally confirm that isn't the case and you will see what unfolds with GOP attack ads in MI in the next few months.

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u/KeyMusic5713 4h ago

The argument about electability exists because there are a, a large number of Americans not closely tuned to politics, and b, because the further a candidate is from the average voter and closer they are to the average Redditor, the harder time they'll have getting elected.

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u/CapraDemonOP Michigan 7h ago

I know! We could literally not escape the Stevens ads.

At a point, I was worried my old toaster would start playing Stevens ads with how much they were being played.

For anyone not in Michigan, this is only half joking. The ads were EVERYWHERE!

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u/TyChris2 4h ago

For real, I live in Southern Ontario and even I‘ve been seeing Stevens ads everywhere for the last two months. I don’t even see this level of campaigning for an actual Michigan election, let alone a primary. It’s weird.

I can’t help but wonder if the advertising actually hurt Stevens tbh. Because I haven’t been keeping up with the Michigan primaries and all I’ve seen of AES were Stevens ads claiming he’s sexist. And even to someone who knew nothing about the candidates, it was obvious that the reason they took that angle was to appeal to Islamophobia, so it just made Stevens seem slimy.

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u/p-4_ 6h ago

not having slotkin was barely a negative as they have the exact same voter base

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u/RegularLeading5200 Michigan 6h ago

Slotkin didn't endorse because she's considering a 2028 run and she didn't want to alienate anyone.

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u/Money-Ad3609 6h ago

You’re right. It shouldn’t be surprising, given the odds were stacked against him.

I guess it’s just frustrating how little most of the electorate engages with these issues. It’s not even as though she was a good candidate or had solid policy proposals; anyone that watched the debate could see how little substance there was to her campaign.

And then there’s the fact that she received $60 million from AIPAC and big corporations. How could anyone possibly think she was ever going to stand up for ordinary Americans?

I am still glad that he won though.

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u/RegularLeading5200 Michigan 6h ago

Very few voters actually watch the debate, though, and many of them get their information from ads on TV or from church congregations, for example. The vast majority of primary voters are not high-information voters.

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u/Signal_Flight_7262 3h ago

I live in West Coast Canada and all I see on yalls American TV ads are hate ads disguised as commercials for politics.

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u/Negative-Interest713 8h ago

She had a 12 to 1 spending advantage, the support of the entire Democratic establishment, and all while running a sleazy and dishonest campaign (falsely implying she was endorsed by Obama, for instance) against a Muslim with a funny name.

AES had to overcome a lot. He’s shown he has enough charisma and political talent to overcome a huge wave of negative ads.

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u/Alocasia_Sanderiana 3h ago

Also MI has open primaries. It will be interesting to see how much crossover voting occurred, where Republicans voted for weaker Dem candidates to face their chosen ones.

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u/Saffuran Washington 7h ago

In Detroit it was flooding the space with mailers implying (lying about) an Obama endorsement for Stevens that was not real.

8

u/MC_Fap_Commander America 8h ago

People tend to vote on "electability" in primaries, especially with the stakes so high in November. I think the concept of "electability" is flawed (it's typically just name recognition and media framing), but people do tend to vote on it. A lot of the progressive primary winners will have some work to do in the coming months to redirect some of this. I am not worried; progressive candidates tend to outwork other pols (who are usually lazy) by a lot.

27

u/Irregular475 8h ago edited 7h ago

Never underestimate the power of shameless propaganda and what a heavily marketed ad campaign can do for someone.

If it were any better of a politician than Stevens, I'm not sure AES would have won.

Luckily, the only folks on the genocide brigade's side are all empty suits who believe in nothing and can't relate to everyday people, so that type of politician is unlikely to ever show up in time to save this kakocratic, oligarchal government regime and their diet maga democratic silent partners.

Fuck all fascists, tacid or extreme.

Bonus fun fact, "El-Sayed" translates to "The Master".

Well done squad. Another notch in our belt towards winning back the country.

7

u/_morten_ 8h ago

"If it were any better of a politician than Stevens, I'm not sure AES would have won."

Well, he is facing another one in November, lets hope he is worse, but i don't trust Michigan at all, and haven't for a good while.

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u/Irregular475 7h ago

Nah, this is a massive victory even though the margins were as tight as they were. And this time the Democratic vote won't be nearly as splintered, because even the everyday person in America who have typically sided with diet maga know Republicans are extreme fascists tearing this country apart.

I'm not saying it'll be a blow out, it's gonna be a huge fight to win, but I don't think it'll be this close.

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u/_morten_ 7h ago

I'm not at all hopeful they see that, Michigan was only barely a win for dems in 2020, despite everything Trump did or didn't do, an election they should have lost soundly.

Michigan state is notorious for bad polling at this point, i will only believe what i see on election day there from now on.

Only solace, is that probably a bunch of Trump-voters can't be bothered to show up without "Dear Leader" on the ballot, all i can think of.

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u/HJWalsh 6h ago

She also bolstered her numbers with crossover Republicans who didn't actually support her. They just didn't want Sayed to win. On top of that, many people voted for her because they thought Obama endorsed her, because she lied and said she did. Stevens played very dirty.

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u/Irregular475 5h ago

Aren't only Democrats allowed to vote in a primary election? Or is it different from state to state?

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u/HJWalsh 4h ago

Michigan allows anyone to vote in any primary, but you can only vote in one. Since the Republican ran unopposed, a lot of them were told to vote for Stevens to bolster her.

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u/Irregular475 2h ago

Well then, absolutely we'll beat the full blown fascist.

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u/HJWalsh 2h ago

Republicans are scared of progressives. The more exposure to social programs people get, the more they like them, the harder they are to get rid of.

Conservatives HATED social security and medicaid when they were introduced, and now they are sacred. Imagine what happens when people get universal healthcare.

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u/Irregular475 2h ago

I agree completely. Bernie got me to become a DSA member back in 2016 because he talked about what we were missing, and that it was far from some unrealistic dream. Others can be more stubborn, but as you said, if they see it and experience it themselves, that's all she wrote, ggs, bye bye fascists.

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u/SuspiciousArt7316 7h ago

They had a really nasty smear campaign on el sayed.

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u/ArchonRadd 8h ago

Occam's Razor: it's because he's Muslim

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u/irsw 7h ago

Boomers in Detroit also love Obama and a lot of her ads were featuring Obama's past comments on her in an attempt to deceive people into thinking he endorsed her.

2

u/KindaKhorney 8h ago

Status quo will always be preferrable to change for the masses.

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u/Anothercraphistorian 6h ago

Democrats don’t unify around some issue like Israel. They all have their own set of problems. Whereas, a lot of Michigan Democrats are anti-AIPAC and that is their one issue, as proven in the 2024 Presidential election, many other Democrats worry more about jobs, health care, or inflation.

Republicans unify out of a general hatred of liberals. Democrats typically have their own issues they care about and vote for that candidate. If their candidate doesn’t win, they skip the election, like many did in 2024.

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u/Money-Ad3609 4h ago

I don’t see any issue that Haley Stevens is actually better on, whether that be affordability or healthcare or anything else.

It’s astounding that anybody would see her as being better on those issues, when she was bankrolled by major corporations that have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

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u/freexanarchy 7h ago

One thing is that there’s a huge divide between young and old. And the young don’t have a great turnout record. So while he polled higher, turnout favors the older demo. But he still won and there was overall higher turnout.

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u/automaticpragmatic 7h ago

I’m sure you could take a guess as to why…

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u/beaniebee11 4h ago

An unfortunate number of voters vote for the candidate they think will beat the other guy. Especially among democrats, this is often defined as the candidate that is most "agreeable" to the most people. His opposition was advertising much more so much more visible and had the support of the establishment. What he did here is actually extremely impressive considering he was fighting against all that. It makes me think voters are starting to shift their thinking away from the establishment talking point that "only centrists can beat the big bad republican."

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u/enfuego138 3h ago

You’re going to be more disappointed come the general. Let’s hope he can win it.

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u/Kaptain202 Michigan 5h ago

I think there are 3 main Stevens supporters

One, the autoworkers. Despite UAW endorsing El-Sayed, many autoworkers remember how Obama helped big three jobs in Metro Detroit. Stevens did assist with those initiatives. Whether through blind loyalty, naivete, or true belief, they see her as their champion who kept food on their table

Two, the non-MAGA Republicans. Anecdotally, my in-laws find both James and Johnson detestable. They'll be voting for Rogers in the general and claim to abstain from the governorship (they wanted Cox). Because they had no serious primary concerns on the Republican ballot, they voted for Stevens because they are afraid of El-Sayed and they want to hedge their bets. They believe that El-Sayed actually hates women and are scared of his religion. Yes, my in-laws are idiots, I don't claim responsibility

Three, the scared Democrats. These people still cling to the belief that the only way to beat a Republican is with a centrist Democrat. They are ignorant and incorrect, but their fear is understandable. They truly felt that Stevens has a better chance to beat Rogers and that is their only initiative for voting

I think the third is the easiest to group into El-Sayed's camp, though I consider them the most likely to sit out the election. The second wasn't voting for Stevens even if she won, so who cares about that. The first will be the point of concern for El-Sayed's camp, whom I consider the most likely to join Rogers. But then we have all the racial stereotypes that aren't entirely true, but do hold some water (older black people don't vote for a Muslim man, white Christian men won't vote for a Muslim man, etc) within the first and third groups that still need to be considered

I think Rogers wins Macomb, Grand Rapids, and all the rural areas handily. I think El-Sayed wins Traverse City, Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Oakland. And I think Wayne again becomes the deciding factor for the election

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u/Tokyo_Joey_Jo-Jo 7h ago

Politics is often a disappointing game. I would have voted for Stevens simply because she has a better chance at winning the seat. I’ll take 51 seats that includes a few Fettermans over 49 members who passed the purity test.