Old-School Democrat? Socialist Candidate Says He’s ‘Not Your Guy’

Michigan, the next battlefield in the Democrat civil war, saw a senate primary debate on Tuesday night. And one candidate is telling “establishment” Democrats that he’s “not your guy.” 

Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, attempted to advance his campaign against Rep. Haley Stevens, backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, by touting his progressive stances that distance him from Democrats and Republicans alike.

When a moderator asked the candidates whether they would continue on the far-left trajectory of the Democratic Party that has worried voters and veteran Democrat operatives alike, El-Sayed said that “there is no left or right,” before acknowledging that he wants the direction of the party to continue shifting.

“Well, I’ll tell you this. It won’t shift if we continue to elect leaders who take money away from the same corporations who have broken with the interests of the American public,” El-Sayed said. “Chuck Schumer desperately wants one of us to be the next senator, and it’s not me. So, if you want your politics dictated you by AIPAC or Chuck Schumer, then I’m not your guy.”

Both senate seats in Michigan have been blue since 1994, and now that two-term Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, Democrats are fighting to keep this battleground seat.

In elections over the last few weeks, DSA-endorsed candidates have been sweeping establishment Democrats in New York and Washington, D.C. After state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the race on Sunday, Democrats will have to make a choice between far-left progressive El-Sayed and moderate centrist Stevens. 

In response to another question from the moderator about whether there is Democrat infighting over the Michigan senate seat, both candidates avoided discussing their stances on the Democratic Party and instead said that they were running for Michiganders.

“And the reason I have put up my hand to run for U.S. Senate is because of what I’m hearing from Michiganders, because a fully paralyzed veteran reached out to me and asked if he was still going to get his benefit check because he saw Elon Musk walking around with a chainsaw,” Stevens said. “I have stood up. I have called these guys out, and I am stopping these abuses of power.”

El-Sayed stated that he only decided to get involved in politics after seeing how the government has failed to provide healthcare. He said his goal as a senator would be for the government to provide Americans with health insurance.

“I’m running to do three things,” El-Sayed said. “Get money out of politics. Put money in your pocket. Pass Medicare for all. I’m not doing this because of some direction of a party. I’m doing this because of the Michiganders that I’ve gotten to see.”

The government should not only provide healthcare, but also childcare, according to El-Sayed.

“I think we need to make childcare free: 100% free,” El-Sayed said. “Now, how do we pay for that? We pay for that by taxing billionaires their wealth.”

Either the government will prioritize billionaires continuing to amass wealth, or it must tax them in order to provide child care, El-Sayed said.

“We could render $4.6 trillion if we were willing to put, let’s say, an 8% tax on billionaire wealth,” El-Sayed said. “That is not difficult, but it’s a function of our values. Do we care enough to allow billionaires to make a second billion, a third billion, a trillion, maybe, like Elon Musk? That is the question we need to answer.”

El-Sayed also went after Stevens for receiving $40 million in outside spending for her campaign. 

When El-Sayed responded to Stevens’ proposed role the United States should play in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, he turned the conversation from foreign policy to questioning foreign interference from organizations such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Stevens’ campaign.

“Look, I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike,” El-Sayed said. “But the question I think the congresswoman needs to answer is, why has she allowed $40 million of outside spending, the bulk of it coming from AIPAC, to come into this race.”

Stevens also went after El-Sayed on the issue of money, suggesting that his goal to tax billionaires and give more money to the working class is contrary to his own financial practices.

“My opponent, Abdul, he said that transparency is key. But yet he hasn’t released his tax returns,” Stevens said. “Abdul, you talk about getting money out of politics and putting money in people’s pockets. But who is putting money in yours? What are you hiding?”

According to a poll done by WOOD TV-8, the television station that hosted the debate, 83% who responded say El-Sayed won the debate. The candidates will face off in the primary elections on August 4.