Dr. Abdul El-Sayed beat a $60 million offensive, AIPAC, and the Democratic establishment. Questions?
Issue #1,058 Thursday, August 6, 2026
El-Sayed victory signals sea change for the Democratic Party
Don’t let Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow margin of victory over Haley Stevens fool you, just in case some Democrat out there holding a grudge wants to try and claim that this was not a mandate.
Sure, according to the numbers, Abdul El-Sayed’s final margin of victory, not announced until August 5 around 10 am, was only about 25,000 votes. That translates to a reportedly narrow victory of barely 1%, at 48.5% to 47.5%. That’s according to the New York Times and CNN, as reported in The Detroit Free Press.
HOWEVER.
This was the most expensive primary in history, which attracted 500,000 more primary voters statewide than ever before. Expensive overwhelmingly because supporters of El-Sayed’s opponent, Haley Stevens, spent more than $60 million in a desperate attempt to defeat him. A huge chunk of that cash came from AIPAC. El-Sayed not only took no money from AIPAC, he didn’t take any money from any other PACs or corporate sponsors. His was truly a people-powered campaign, which scared the hell out of a mainstream Democratic establishment that has relied heavily on corporate and PAC donations since forever. As the saying goes, money is the mother’s milk of politics. Nobody ever thought that could ever change – until now.
Scratch that. The money will stay in the game, but what could change is where that money comes from. If enough Democratic candidates, into the future, are willing to buck the system and follow the lead of El-Sayed and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, then that could dramatically revise the political calculus of how campaigns are run forever. But most importantly, such a movement has the potential to sweep out the puppets and open the door to a new generation of politicians who actually represent the communities they are supposed to serve without fear because they will no longer be beholden.
I know. It sounds impossible, almost like I’ve been listening to Pollyanna whispering in my ear.
But what if Pollyanna is right?
Abdul El-Sayed just defeated the Democratic establishment, AIPAC, and $60 million of corporate cash, all focused on making sure Haley Stevens came out victorious no matter what.
She didn’t.
What if Pollyanna is right?
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