The recent surprise primary victory for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York convinced the socialist wing of the Democratic party that their time had finally come. One race they truly wanted to win was the Democratic primary for governor of Michigan. They even flew in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to help the campaign but it didn’t work.
Abdul El-Sayed was the candidate and they thought he could prove that Democratic Socialism would play in the midwest. Just take a look at this Think Progress report by Addy Baird:
Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign to prove Democratic Socialism can win in the MidwestEl-Sayed’s platform mirrors Sanders’ and Ocasio-Cortez’s. He supports raising the minimum wage to $15/hour, implementing single-payer health care in the state, free college for families earning less than $150,000 a year, universal pre-K, legalizing marijuana, and ending Right to Work. He has vowed never to accept corporate money and to “get the money out of politics.”El-Sayed also believes he can bring a fresh perspective to the governor’s mansion. At a recent rally in Ypsilanti, he opened by asking the crowd, “Who here believes in democracy over corporate domination? Who thinks that we need new blood in places like Lansing and D.C.? And who believes that when we stand together, when we lift our voices, we will get that done?”According to the Daily Intelligencer, the tightly-packed crowd responded with cheers and resounding applause.
Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, both traveled to Michigan to support him. Ella Nilsen reported at VOX:
Progressives want Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for Michigan governor to be their next big victoryIn a swing state that dealt a fatal blow to Democrats in 2016, two rising progressive stars thrilled a crowd of 1,200 by aiming their harshest words not at Donald Trump but at the Democratic Party, which they declared too beholden to corporations and lacking solutions for working people.The crowd, packed tightly into seats at a local high school, chanted, “I believe that we will win!” One woman waved a sign proclaiming, “I’m feeling the Bern.”They weren’t there to see Bernie Sanders but two of his young disciples: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old Democratic Socialist who took down House Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in his home district in the Bronx; and Abdul El-Sayed, 33, a progressive Democrat running for Michigan governor who wants to bring Medicare-for-all to the state (Sanders did end up campaigning with El-Sayed the following weekend).
Cortez and El-Sayed also made a joint appearance with Linda Sarsour at the Annual Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA) conference in July.
The race is now over and El-Sayed came up short:
MLive reports:
Gretchen Whitmer wins Michigan Democratic primary for governorFormer Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday won the state’s Democratic primary, defeating two progressive candidates billing her as an establishment choice.The Associated Press called the race for Whitmer at 9:55 p.m.As of then she was leading with 49.61 percent of the vote, beating Abdul El-Sayed’s 35.16 percent and Shri Thanedar’s 15.23 percent.Whitmer, known as a liberal lawmaker during her time in the legislature, faced attacks from the left from El-Sayed and Thanedar.El-Sayed in particular had gotten the endorsement of Bernie Sanders, who won over Hillary Clinton in Michigan’s 2016 presidential primary and drew comparisons between his candidacy and El-Sayed’s in a speech last weekend.
They will try to spin this as a win but that’s not what it is, he lost. Even Cortez and Bernie couldn’t drag him over the finish line.
The biggest loser is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Every candidate she endorsed for Tuesday’s elections lost. Kyle Olson reports at the American Mirror:
Socialist star Ocasio-Cortez strikes out: All endorsed candidates lose Tuesday primariesCortez held a whirl-wind tour of the U.S., stumping for Abdul El-Sayed for governor of Michigan, Fayrouz Saad in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, Cori Bush in Missouri’s 1st District, and is backing Congressional candidate Kaniela Ing in Hawaii.El-Sayed lost his bid for the Democrat nomination for governor to 50.1 percent to 34.6 percent, according to numbers published by the New York Times.Saad came in fourth in the five-way race, capturing only 20.1 percent of the vote.Cori Bush lost her primary to William Lacy Clay, 62.3 percent to 30.2 percent, the Times results show.
Featured image via YouTube.
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