Harris joins El-Sayed on campaign trail as Democrats focus on Michigan Senate race

Geoff Bennett:

As we continue our coverage in the lead-up to the midterm elections, one key state, Michigan, is in the spotlight tonight. One of the Democrats' biggest names made their first major campaign stop of the cycle there.

Our Lisa Desjardins has more.

Lisa Desjardins:

Former Vice President Kamala Harris was in the Wolverine In state today to campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. This was at a roundtable in Detroit focused on Black maternal health. Harris lost the state in 2024, struggling with progressives there.

Today, she both criticized President Trump and aimed to boost El-Sayed.

Kamala Harris, Former Vice President of the United States: The United States Senate should be a stopgap on the abuses of this administration. And I would suggest to you that the fellow sitting to my right would be one of them when elected.

Lisa Desjardins:

For more on moment in Michigan and what it means nationally for Democrats, I'm joined by strategist Joel Payne, who worked for the Hillary Clinton campaign and others.

This is a big moment. Voting has started in several states by mail, including parts of Michigan. Why is it that the El-Sayed campaign wants to be next to Kamala Harris, someone who lost that state?

Joel Payne, Democratic Strategist:

Well, I think this is a part of a continued effort by the El-Sayed team to continue to bring together that coalition in Michigan. It was a very tough, rough-and-rumble primary, and you do have to kind of heal some of the divisions that existed there.

I think Kamala Harris certainly represents a lot of those establishment votes that went to Haley Stevens in that primary. Also, she will help him with African American voters in key strongholds like Detroit and Lansing. I think this will be a good opportunity for El-Sayed to continue to do some of that work.

Lisa Desjardins:

I want to talk more about those African American voters. Looking at the competitive Senate races -- I just did this before we sat down -- I don't see any Democratic candidates in them who are Black.

Do Democrats have an issue with elevating Black leaders right now and therefore with motivating Black voters?

Joel Payne:

Well, I think certainly Democrats continue to have to do the work to bring together the type of coalition that they want.

I might say that the folks in Florida might be -- might pick a nit with you about Angie Nixon.

Lisa Desjardins:

If it's competitive, yes.

Joel Payne:

If it's competitive. And, by the way, there's some polling out there...

Lisa Desjardins:

Going by The Cook Political Report's ratings.

Joel Payne:

Sure.

Lisa Desjardins:

They have not rated it competitive yet.

(Crosstalk)

Joel Payne:

Yes. And I wouldn't disagree with Amy about anything.

But what I would say to you is that I do think that Democrats have to continue to do work to bring back in some of those folks into the coalition that they maybe lost in 2024. Remember, Donald Trump maybe overperformed with some African American populations.

And I think embedded in your question is part of that, how do you bring back that working-class people of color coalition? I think candidates that not only represent in who they are and their identity, but in their issues, are a part of that work.

Lisa Desjardins:

Back to this race in Michigan, we have already seen some attention-getting ads, and they are about the politics of identity. Let's take a look.

Joel Payne:

Yes.

Narrator:

Abdul El-Sayed grew up as Michigan as you get.

Narrator:

Parents worked the auto industry. Football.

Narrator:

Abdul El-Sayed runs around with a terrorist sympathizer who said America deserved 9/11.

Hasan Piker, Livestreamer and Political Commentator: America deserved 9/11, dude.

Abdul El-Sayed (D), Michigan Senatorial Candidate: I'm not here to disavow people's views.

Hasan Piker:

America deserved 9/11, dude.

Mike Rogers (R), Michigan Senatorial Candidate: Abdul is too extreme for Michigan.

Lisa Desjardins:

OK, that's particularly a reference to the controversial leftist streamer Hasan Piker, who did campaign in the primaries with El-Sayed, but El-Sayed has distanced himself. He's gone so far to really stress he disavows antisemitism in all forms.

However, this is an issue we keep seeing come up, and especially identity as a Muslim man in this race. I have to say, even some Democrats I spoke to on the ground there told me in private that it was off-putting to them. This is 2026, but, being honest, this is something I heard.

How much of an issue is this in Michigan, the identity of El-Sayed in particular, and how's he dealing with it?

Joel Payne:

Well, look, I think the fact that the Rogers campaign and Republicans nationally are trying to kind of otherize El-Sayed in the state kind of shows you what their hand is that they have to play, which is to scare up more votes in their base and to bring out more people by kind of going with a base strategy.

Certainly understand that. I don't think that that's going to have the success that I think it's intended to have, for a couple of reasons. One, they're trying to weaponize kind of Abdul El-Sayed being outside of the system. I actually think in this cycle, in this moment, an anti-insider moment, I think it helps that El-Sayed is kind of a newer voice and someone who represents a newer generation of politics.

Also, I think he's going to bring out a different coalition of voters, some who were, frankly, turned off by Democrats in 2024 and in past cycles. So while I think Republicans might see it as opportunity that El-Sayed speaks differently, represents a different subset of issues, I actually think El-Sayed and the folks behind him think that that's an advantage for them.

Lisa Desjardins:

Right.

Kind of on that, the policy of it, Republicans are going to harp on the things that get a lot of attention, not his policies more broadly, but -- he is not a Democratic socialist, but he has spoken at DSA events. He has said some things that most Americans don't agree with, like he kind of frowns on Fourth of July fireworks as unhealthy.

He's also in the past indicated an openness to some form of defunding the police. Now, those are more serious kind of policy and philosophical issues. How do Republicans deal with that nationwide? Because they're taking what he believes in Michigan and those kinds of quotes from him and running with it nationwide against him.

Joel Payne:

Yes, you might see that Cheshire Cat smile on me, because Abdul El-Sayed played lacrosse at the University of Michigan. I mean, I think that that's a pretty common experience for a lot of Michiganders, and as he said, he's always been Abdul from Michigan.

So, I think that this might be a situation where, if you're flying in from maybe outside of the state, you may not understand some of the issues and some of the parochial issues in the state. But be that as it may, I take the point that belies your question.

I do think that Republicans are going to look for these ways to again try to cleave off people who might decide, hey, maybe I will take a chance with someone new in a cycle and in a political moment where they're feeling dissatisfied, where voters are feeling dissatisfied with what they've gotten from the first two years of Trump.

I think the big problem for Mike Rogers in this moment is that not only is he attached to Donald Trump. He's attached to the establishment from a different generation and a different era, which, by the way, this moment is a rejection of.

I mean, Mike Rogers represents as much of the politics of the past for Republicans in the state as Donald Trump does. And I think that that's a real challenge to this, maybe something that gets underplayed here.

Lisa Desjardins:

Joel Payne, part of our continuing conversations, thank you.

Joel Payne:

Thank you.