Retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., has abandoned his neutrality in Michigan's high-stakes Democratic Senate primary, backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens as party leaders rally to stop progressive rival Abdul El-Sayed from winning the nomination.
Peters, who is retiring after two terms in the Senate, announced the endorsement Monday, saying Stevens "will be ready on day one to fight for Michigan." The move reverses his position from late May, when he told The ****** ociated Press he planned to stay neutral in the Aug. 4 primary.
Democrats are eager to keep the Michigan seat as they try to win back the Senate majority, and many party leaders have lined up behind Stevens, a four-term congresswoman they see as a stronger general election candidate.
Democrats' Civil War Heads To Michigan Where Progressives Face Biggest Test Yet In High-stakes Senate Showdown
Stevens has centered her campaign on manufacturing, jobs and Michigan's auto industry. El-Sayed, a former Michigan health director who has never held elected office, has run on a more progressive platform that includes "Medicare-for-all" and campaign finance reform. He has also made the war in Gaza a central issue in his campaign, highlighting a divide that has surfaced within the Democratic Party.