Sen. Van Hollen backs El-Sayed for Michigan Senate in break from Democratic leadership
Van Hollen said El-Sayed can win by focusing on affordability and challenging wealthy donors as Democrats split over the party’s direction.
- On Thursday, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen endorsed progressive Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, breaking with party leadership as early voting began.
- Tensions between Democratic leadership and the party's left flank escalated after Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer publicly backed Rep. Haley Stevens last week, viewed as the moderate candidate.
- Stevens has benefited from nearly $8 million in outside spending this month from the United Democracy Project, while El-Sayed campaigns on Medicare for All and halting U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.
- Van Hollen framed his choice as backing a candidate willing to take on "the establishment Democratic Party" that he said is "too cozy with big money special interests," distancing the decision from personal attacks.
- Democrats must hold the Michigan seat to maintain Senate majority; while Stevens secured endorsements from Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, El-Sayed retains backing from Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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24 Articles
Chris Van Hollen Endorses Anti-Israel Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed
US Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks to media during a Senate vote, at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, May 2, 2024. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect US Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has become the latest prominent Democrat to endorse anti-Israel progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, in another sign of the Democratic Party’s acceptance of a far-left insurgency deeply hostile toward the Jewish state. In an interview with t…
Senior Senator Breaks With Schumer, Endorses Progressive El-Sayed in Michigan Primary
Maryland’s senior senator endorsed progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Aug. 4 Democratic Senate primary, breaking with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.). Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who shared the endorsement first with The Associated Press as early voting opened in Michigan on June 25, is the first senator to back El-Sayed since Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) did so shor…
Van Hollen joins Sanders in endorsing El-Sayed in Michigan Senate primary
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday endorsed progressive Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan. El-Sayed, the former director of the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services in Wayne County, Mich., is battling Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) for the Democratic nomination in the race to…
The Toronto Star
AP Exclusive: Sen. Van Hollen backs El-Sayed for Michigan Senate in break from Democratic leadership
WASHINGTON (AP) — Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is backing progressive Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, breaking with party leadership and intensifying a battle over the party’s direction in one of the most important Senate races of 2026.
Associated Press News
Sen. Van Hollen backs El-Sayed for Michigan Senate in break from Democratic leadership
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is endorsing Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. This breaks with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and deepens a party split in one of 2026’s most important races.
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