WASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Friday, in a race with Abdul El-Sayed that has become a focal point for the party's fight between its moderate establishment and progressive wings.
“As governor, I have one strategy: Get things done,” Whitmer said in a video posted on X. “Just like me, Haley will do whatever it takes to get things done for the people of Michigan.”
Whitmer was also expected to attend a campaign event in Detroit with Stevens later Friday.
Stevens has pitched herself as a Democrat who has won tough elections, including flipping a Republican-held House seat. She's in a tight race for the Democratic nomination against El-Sayed, a progressive whose supporters include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November for a critical, battleground Senate seat now held by the retiring two-term Democrat Gary Peters.
Peters and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer have backed Stevens, who also was joined in Detroit Friday by Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.
Stevens is a four-term congresswoman from the Detroit area. Her candidacy has benefited from tens of millions in spending by outside political groups, including nearly $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.
El-Sayed, who accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, has criticized Stevens for taking money from AIPAC.
Whitmer is a two-term governor who isn’t on the ballot this fall, though she has been mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate. She is the best-known politician in Michigan.
Whitmer had long weighed the decision and in the end decided to endorse the day before early, in-person primary voting began.
Stevens’ success winning in a competitive district, including converting the GOP-held seat for Democrats in 2018, was among the factors in the endorsement, according to a person who was familiar with the governor’s deliberations but was not authorized to discuss private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
El-Sayed also competed with Whitmer for the 2018 Democratic nomination for governor. Whitmer won with a slim majority of the vote, while El-Sayed finished in second place.
