Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate primary win raises concerns in Tel Aviv: Israeli media

The victory of Egyptian-American physician Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for the US Senate seat in Michigan has sparked wide reactions in Israel, with Israeli media terming the result as a setback for pro-Israel voices.

According to results announced on Wednesday, El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, who received tens of millions of dollars in financial backing from pro-Israel groups as the candidate considered most likely to win the general election.

Israel's Channel 14 said the "hardline progressive wing" achieved a significant victory through El-Sayed's win, noting that his campaign prominently called for ending US military aid to Israel.

The channel said the outcome could influence the Democratic Party's future and fuel broader debate over the growing influence of the party's Israel-critical wing ahead of the 2028 US presidential election.

The Israel Hayom newspaper described El-Sayed's victory as "a major triumph" for the progressive wing and "a crushing blow" to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

AIPAC's political wing, the United Democracy Project, spent more than $30 million supporting Stevens in a bid to defeat El-Sayed, the newspaper said.

For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth dubbed El-Sayed "the Muslim Obama," saying that although the race against Stevens was local in nature, it was widely viewed as a test of the Democratic Party's direction ahead of upcoming elections, particularly the congressional midterms.

Israel's public broadcaster KAN also stated that the election results reflect intensifying competition between the Democratic Party's moderate and progressive wings over policy toward Israel, adding that El-Sayed's potential election to the senate in November could influence the chamber's positions on issues related to Israel.

El-Sayed will face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who ran unopposed, in the Nov. 3 midterm election.

The seat is open following the retirement of Sen. Gary Peters and is considered crucial to Democratic hopes of regaining control of the US Senate.

If he wins the November election, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim to serve in the senate.

Abdul El-Sayed, 41, was born in Rochester Hills, Michigan, to Egyptian immigrant parents. He graduated from the University of Michigan, earned his medical degree from Columbia University, and later received a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

In 2018, he ran in the Democratic primary for governor of Michigan but lost to Gretchen Whitmer. He later emerged as one of the leading figures of the Democratic Party's progressive wing.