Michigan Shows Democrats’ Identity Crisis Up Close
Trying to expand the electorate.
Photographer: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Democrats’ slim chances of winning the Senate in November rest on keeping Michigan blue. That might seem straightforward: Trump’s approval rating in the state is just 37% and the state hasn’t sent a Republican to the upper chamber since 1994. But Republicans have fielded an experienced candidate, Mike Rogers, who lost by only 19,000 votes to Senator Elissa Slotkin in 2024. The Cook Political Report rates the Michigan race as one of four toss-ups.
Meanwhile, Democrats are facing a messy primary race that is rife with ideological schisms and intraparty feuding — a microcosm of a party battling to define itself in the Trump era. Three millennials, each representing a different faction, are vying to replace retiring Senator Gary Peters: US Representative Haley Stevens is the establishment candidate; state Senator Mallory McMorrow represents the center-left; and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is the progressive.