Senate Hopefuls From Michigan Jostle for Union Support

Democrats were devastated by their 2024 presidential defeat for many reasons: They were horrified by the return of President Trump and Republican control of Washington, and alarmed to learn that much of the country saw their party as out of touch.

But for some Democrats, one of the most painful developments was watching Republicans make inroads with working-class voters who, until fairly recently, had called the Democratic Party home.

One of the biggest open questions of the 2026 midterms — and ultimately the next presidential election — is whether Democrats can figure out how to win some of those voters back.

Today, some of them showed how they will try.

At a gathering in Washington of the powerful United Automobile Workers union, Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia — the senior pastor of Atlanta’s famed Ebenezer Baptist Church and a potential presidential candidate — sought to connect with workers who feel increasingly left behind, something Trump did effectively throughout his presidential campaigns.

“Workers are seeing that they’re creating wealth for others, but it’s not showing up in their paychecks,” he said. “There is a growing sense in our country that our best days are behind us.”

But beyond acknowledging the problem, the questions of what to do about those issues and how to talk about them are matters of debate. Democrats are already fighting over their approach in a series of high-profile and increasingly contentious primary races around the country.

The gathering today also offered a snapshot of the different ideological and stylistic bets Democratic Senate candidates in Michigan are making as they compete to represent the birthplace of the modern labor movement — a state that Trump flipped in both 2016 and 2024.

Representative Haley Stevens, speaking in her thick Michigan accent, sounded like a traditional pro-labor Democrat. She repeatedly invoked her work for the Obama administration’s auto task force, cast herself as an experienced lawmaker with close ties to unions, and praised the 2023 auto workers’ strike as “a thing of beauty.”

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, pushed left-leaning ideas like “Medicare for all” and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He slammed the influence of corporate money and insisted that this was a time for bold proposals.

“I am done with politicians telling us what we cannot have and should not fight for,” he said. “That we just got to wait a couple more years until the time is right. When is the time going to be right?”

And State Senator Mallory McMorrow both emphasized her experience on labor issues and urged attendees not to “settle” — while working in barely veiled jabs at both El-Sayed and Stevens.

“We do not have to settle for somebody who prioritizes rhetoric over results, who’s never held office,” she said. “We don’t have to settle for somebody who’s too beholden to corporate interests to actually work alongside you.”

Keep an eye on this race — it’s already interesting and unpredictable, and is only going to get spicier.