Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Michigan Democrats\u2019 scramble to unify after a brutal primary continued Friday with a preplanned rally<\/a> that brought together the statewide ticket.<\/p>\n It also brought out Pete Buttigieg, a former and potentially future presidential candidate, whose presence helped underscore the stakes not just in November, but for 2028.<\/p>\n Holding the Michigan Senate seat is key to Democrats\u2019 hopes of winning back the upper chamber. It is also a major battleground state that has now voted for President Donald Trump in two of the last three presidential elections, even as it sends Democrats like Elissa Slotkin to the Senate. Michigan is now poised to become an early presidential nominating state<\/a>, giving it outsized influence on the 2028 contest.<\/p>\n Buttigieg laid out, in explicit terms, the broader stakes of a fractured Democratic coalition heading into the general election: \u201cThe stakes are high, and people from around the country, people from around the world, are watching the state of Michigan right now to see if we have the capability to put together that coalition to win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re going to win because we know what it means to focus on what’s at stake, to lock arms as allies after a spirited primary, to pull together in common cause,\u201d said Buttigieg, who stayed neutral in the state\u2019s Senate primary, at the Michigan Democratic Party\u2019s general election kickoff rally.<\/p>\n Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday defeated Rep. Haley Stevens<\/a> after a bruising primary that exposed ideological and demographic divisions within the party. He now faces Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the general election, and he has to figure out how to pull moderate and establishment Democrats back into the fold to hold the seat.<\/p>\n Republicans, seeing an opening with Black and Jewish voters who broke more for Stevens, are already trying to peel away<\/a> parts of the Democratic coalition. They view Michigan as one of their best pickup opportunities this cycle.<\/p>\n Buttigieg, who represents the party\u2019s more moderate flank, used his remarks Friday to explicitly appeal to Democrats across the spectrum \u2014 and even some Republicans.<\/p>\n \u201cWherever you sit, in this big tent of ours, and it is a big tent, but whatever corner of that tent you think of as home, there is a set of things, and I mean big, big things, where we agree with each other, we agree with most Michiganders, and Washington and Lansing Republicans disagree with us,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s what’s at stake right now, and it’s not all about left, right, and center, Democrat and Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n Buttigieg\u2019s remarks \u2014 and the early unification around El-Sayed in one of the nation\u2019s most important battlegrounds \u2014 underscores the delicate balancing act party leaders have to contend with. After a string of progressive victories through the spring<\/a>, establishment Democrats in particular are trying to rally behind their new nominees without necessarily embracing every part of the politics that carried them across the finish line.<\/p>\n That dance showed up subtly throughout the speeches on Friday night.<\/p>\n Buttigieg at one point framed El-Sayed\u2019s position as wanting \u201cto expand affordable health care and keep more money in your pocket,\u201d whereas Rogers \u201cvoted against the Affordable Care Act.\u201d Buttigieg notably did not use the phrase \u201cMedicare for All\u201d to address one of El-Sayed\u2019s signature progressive positions.<\/p>\n El-Sayed, for his part, also made an explicit effort to turn the page.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the spirit of unity, in the spirit of the work, in the spirit of coming together, I want to thank both of my colleagues who ran, Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow, for an incredible race,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir incredible public service in the state of Michigan, and I cannot wait to see what both of them will do next.\u201d<\/p>\n But he signaled that the progressive policy positions that powered his campaign would remain central to his general election stump. He reiterated his support for Medicare for All and railed against \u201cthe system of super PACs\u201d and the millions of outside money flooding into politics.<\/p>\n And he sharply criticized Rogers, who, along with his fellow Republicans, have dramatically increased their attacks against El-Sayed since he won the primary, offering an early glimpse of what is likely to be a combative and divisive general election.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don’t know who we fight for,\u201d El-Sayed said. \u201cWe fight for the families barely able to put their groceries in the cart and check out, we fight for the mom who’s worried about the child care she needs to be able to work a job that barely pays enough, we fight for the folks who are afraid about what happens if they get sick. We fight for each other, and we don’t back down.\u201d<\/p>\n