As Michigan’s Senate primary approaches, thousands of voters and supporters gathered at the Lansing Convention Center for Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign rally, featuring appearances from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
El-Sayed begin his speech opening up about why he chose to enter the Senate race, stemming from his personal and professional experiences.
“I got the opportunity to come home to the city of Detroit to rebuild Detroit's health department, led to Wayne County's Department of Health, Human, and Veteran Services,” El-Sayed said. “We thought outside the box about what public health would be and do when we realized that 30% of our kids, who we knew needed classes, wouldn't get a pair, we built a program to provide a free pair for every student who needed one. A program that's done 10s of 1000s of pairs of classes across the state.”
The possibility of entering the race came after El-Sayed said he learned through a notification on his phone that Michigan Senator Gary Peters was not seeking re-election.
“I had to ask myself, when is it that we're going to get a U.S. senator that's got some actual fight on? We're fighting the campaign to do three simple things that y'all are enough to get money out of politics, money in your pockets and Medicare for all.
Since then, El-Sayed said that campaign has taken him to 110 cities, where he would regularly get told by voters that the way of life shouldn't be difficult.
"It just shouldn't be this hard," El-Sayed said. "Shouldn't be this hard to afford a second bag of groceries. Shouldn't be this hard to pay your rent or ever believe you could own a home. Shouldn't be this hard to see a doctor in the richest, most powerful country in the whole world.”
For some attendees, the decision of choosing between El-Sayed and Democratic challenger Haley Stevens comes down to finding candidates who prioritize their communities over personal or political interests.
St. Johns resident John Traintaflos said he remains undecided but is looking for candidates focused on serving the public rather than advancing their own interests.
“We want people in there that are responsible people,”Traintaflos said. I don't really care if they're left or right. I care that they're for the people and that they're going to do things that are good for citizens.”
Traintaflos said while he approved of some actions taken by Republican candidate and former Congressman Mike Rogers during his time in office, he still has concerns about his record. He said his choice will likely come down to El-Sayed and Democratic challenger Haley Stevens.
“I don't want Mike Rogers in there. I've seen him do some good things, but I've seen some things that I didn't approve of," Traintaflos said. “I think it's time to give Mike a focus on what he really needs to be doing if he's going to stay in government.”
El-Sayed was the only U.S. Senate candidate to hold a campaign rally in Lansing this weekend. Stevens’ campaign organized canvassing efforts across the state, while Rogers’ campaign held a “National Day of Action” event in Macomb and door launch event in Genesee County.
Michigan State University student Jacob Dembski said one word describes how he feels with Election Day approaching: “forward.”
“I'd say it's pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible in this country, both economically, both socially, environmentally, and I want to be a part of that movement, pushing all of those fronts forward,” Dembski said.
Dembski said rallies and community events are important tools for encouraging voter participation, especially among communities that feel disconnected from politics.
“I think it's a big shift of the power,” Dembski said. “It's trying to put it back into the possession of the people. It's trying to collect and trying to organize the masses instead of just trying to use money to influence these things with media or other things.”
El-Sayed criticized his opponents on their acceptance of campaign donations from corporation.
"The individual I'm running against in this private, and the individual who I will run against in the general election, both of them have taken money from BTE," El-Sayed said. "Both of them have taken money from Blue Cross. Both of them are taking money from Big Pharma. Both of them are taking money from Big Tech. Both of them are taking money and willing to take money from AIPAC."
El-Sayed said that he's a "proud Democrat", but in the process, he criticized the party's establishment in their fears he might not be the candidate to defeat Republican candidate Mike Rogers in November.
"They like to pretend that they're worried that I might not win, but actually, the real worry is that I might actually win because until we, as a party, get right on addressing the conflict of interest that sits at the heart of our fighting for working people, but then taking money from corporations until we decide that we are going to fight for the people instead of the corporations that are nickel and diming the people," El-Sayed said.
Before taking the stage, congressional candidate William Lawrence spoke with WKAR News about what he believes is at stake in the upcoming primary.
“I believe in honest, open, community-centered representation,” Lawrence said. “That's how we've been focused the campaign all along. I've been focused on showing up, supporting people in the ways they need help, and talking about the issues.”
Lawrence criticized Democratic candidates Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam for declining to participate in a televised debate, saying it would have given voters an opportunity to hear more about their positions.
“That would have been a great opportunity to talk about the issues rather than just throwing smears at each other on television,” Lawrence said. “I've been running a positive campaign all the way through, and I'm going to stay focused on that positivity and the vision of the life that we all deserve and can win here in Mid-Michigan.”
During his speech, Lawrence said lasting political change comes from ordinary people organizing together.
“Every time you look in the history books, you will find people, ordinary people, banding together, fighting back and overcoming to leave a better future for their children and grandchildren. And this is one of those times,” Lawrence said.
Ocasio-Cortez called on voters to support a government she said should prioritize constituents over powerful interests.
“We've seen down the line he is supported by a coalition of the working class, and that's why this moment is actually bigger than just ideology or party,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “This is a moment of class and country, because it's not about left and right. It's about top and bottom.”
She said many working families are looking for changes in how political decisions are made.
“The working families of our country are increasingly tired of establishment politics, and they are tired of the same old establishment policies,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Sanders described the Michigan Senate primary as a larger debate over political influence and the role of wealthy donors.
“This campaign is about whether we maintain the status quo, a status quo which is failing working families in Michigan and all over this country, or whether we stand up and fight for change,” Sanders said.
El-Sayed continued to focus his remarks on expanding opportunity, reducing the influence of money in politics and creating what he described as a government that works for ordinary people.
“This country has the ability to do incredible things, and best of all, this country has the ability to correct,” El-Sayed said. “Right now, we may not get to change the last 250 years, but we have a choice about what the next 250 will be like.”
El-Sayed closed his speech by encouraging supporters to continue organizing in their communities.
“Good people come together,” El-Sayed said. “They find each other, and they grow in numbers. Conversations quiet in quiet rooms turn into rallies in big rooms. People coming together around the ideals that we are supposed to fight for.”
After the rally, El-Sayed made a direct appeal to undecided voters, including supporters of former Senate candidate McMorrow, telling WKAR News that their campaigns shared similar concerns about money in politics.
“Senator McMorrow ran a campaign on ideals,” El-Sayed said. “She didn't take corporate back money. She talked about the corruption money that would come into this race, she got wiped out by 30 million dollars from AIPAC.”
El-Sayed encouraged voters who supported McMorrow to consider his campaign as a continuation of those issues.
“If you want to center the ideals that both Senator McMorrow and I ran on in the next U.S. Senate seat, then I hope that I can earn your support,” El-Sayed said.