Last Tuesday night, Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, defeated Hayley Stevens in the Democratic primary in Michigan, becoming the party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan. He won by 1 point, with a margin of 15,000 votes, and has plans to win against Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee, this fall. If El-Sayed were to win, he would become the first Muslim to hold a seat in the US Senate.

El-Sayed is not a traditional Democrat. With strong connections to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported him in his campaigning efforts, and he was also endorsed by Bernie Sanders, who celebrated his victory, saying he is “taking on the entire Michigan Democratic establishment.”

Reporting from Reuters framed the primary between El-Sayed and Stevens as a litmus test to see which direction the Democratic Party is headed as a whole ideologically, portraying Stevens as the mainstream Democrat and El-Sayed as the progressive left.

El-Sayed’s victory is being seen as a “rebuke” to the Democratic Party; Senate Democratic leadership, including Chuck Schumer and DSCC members, had hoped for a win for Stevens, believing she had a stronger chance of winning in the general election. Her campaign was also heavily supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent $60 million in support of Stevens’ campaign. Suehaila Amen, a Muslim activist, said, “It would be absolutely spectacular to watch the fall of that so-called empire that AIPAC thinks that they hold.”

El-Sayed’s campaign centered around the three core messages of getting money out of politics, putting money into the pockets of the American people, and passing Medicare for All. His immigration plans include abolishing ICE. Additionally, while he does not explicitly identify as a Democratic Socialist, he has been supported by the DSA throughout his campaigning efforts.

El-Sayed’s campaign manager, Alia Kapasi, said, “This was always going to be the many versus the money, and tonight, we have shown that Michiganders want money out of politics, money in their pockets, and Medicare for all. We are building a coalition that is fired up and ready to go beat Mike Rogers.”

This fall, El-Sayed will face Rogers, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Rogers commented on the election while it was still unfolding, saying, “Whoever comes out of it is going to have a coalition problem … I think both of them are too radical for the state. And so whoever comes out of this is gonna have to put their own coalition together.”

El-Sayed, who is a faithful Muslim, spoke at an event for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a few years back, which was also funded by a group connected to Hamas and has been condemned as a terrorist organization by Texas and Florida, and even the United Arab Emirates. He commented, “The same exact forces that drove Native peoples from their land…those forces are alive and well today, and…you can’t understand a Sharia ban without understanding a trail of tears.” Although one of his core messages is getting money out of politics, he has allowed his campaign to receive more than $115,000 from around 41 people who have worked for CAIR, illustrating an obvious double standard.

His impulse to provide benign explanations for evil perpetrated by Muslims is also evident; his attempt to explain the actions of the Muslim man who attempted to kill people this past March at Temple Israel, a synagogue in Michigan, included statements that encouraged trying to “understand” where this man was coming from, implying Israel’s right to defend itself provoked the assailants’ rage. “Hurt people hurt people,” he said.

After the news of El-Sayed’s victory came out, Trump commented on his Truth Social: “Great news for the Republican Party. El-Sayed, a Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel, is the projected winner in his race with the Socialist. As usual, the Polls were way off on this one. She was not expected to do nearly as well as she did. Now, the Dumocrats crazy policies will only get worse!”

Today, Mike Rogers warned Michigan, saying, “Abdul isn’t just another liberal. He’s an extremist … He’s leading a movement rooted in ideological fanaticism. His agenda would make our communities less safe and our state less affordable.” El-Sayed has made it clear he is not a conventional democrat, and is openly promoting the path of socialism to the people of Michigan.

The implications of a potential victory for El-Sayed could impact the power dynamics Michigan brings to the Senate; Democrat Senator Gary Peters is considered to be more moderate, but if he were to be joined by El-Sayed, Michigan could turn a deeper shade of blue than seen before.