Bernie Sanders stumps for El-Sayed, McKinney while continuing push against oligarchy

DETROIT — Momentous wins from progressive candidates like New York’s Zohran Mamdani show U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the movement’s leading voice, that a progressive candidate like Abdul El-Sayed can win the August primary and the Michigan general election come November.

That was the message that Sanders shared with an energetic crowd while in Detroit on Sunday, holding court in a packed gymnasium at Mumford High School.

A year ago, Sanders held a similar “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Detroit that featured El-Sayed and state Rep. Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit). Both El-Sayed and McKinney were then just dipping their toes into the prospect of running for higher office. 

Now, El-Sayed, who previously ran and lost in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, is neck and neck with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) as he seeks a seat in the U.S. Senate. McKinney is seeking a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and is one of the key primary challengers against current U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit) of the 13th Congressional District.

There’s been much debate over whether progressive candidates in Michigan can repeat the same electoral success of candidates like Mamdani, who won an upset victory to become mayor of New York City.

For Sanders, whose Democratic Socialist policy agenda helped him win the Michigan primary in 2016, the seeds have been sown and the soil appears rich for another progressive wave in the Great Lakes state, one that he said might surprise its residents and the nation.

@michiganadvance @Bernie Sanders speaks at Mumford High School in Detroit on behalf of @Abdul El-Sayed ♬ original sound – Michigan Advance

“I want to give you some good news,” Sanders said. “As Rashida Tlaib will tell you, over the last six to eight years, we have elected dozens of great members of Congress; strong progressives who are standing up and fighting for the working class. And I certainly hope Donavan McKinney will join that group.”

Sanders said there was more good news: it was not just that they’ve had success in congressional races and the spirit of Mamdani in New York was far from just a moral victory.

“Think about what’s happened in the last six months,” he said. “Zohran Mamdani started his campaign for mayor of New York city at 1% in the polls. Got it? He was opposed by the entire Democratic establishment, he was obviously opposed by the Republican establishment, he was opposed by the president of the United States, he was opposed by every oligarch in New York City.”

But Mamdani put together a grassroots effort that saw him amass 100,000 volunteers, who Sanders said did something as simple as knock on doors. That effort took him to the halls of power in the largest city in the nation, Sanders added, and it’s a strategy he said that could work for his friend El-Sayed.

“I don’t care how much money the other folks have, when you have 100,000 people knocking on doors, whether it’s New York, or Michigan for Abdul, there ain’t nobody gonna beat you,” Sanders said. “They’ve got the money. We’re never going to compete with that. And they don’t like Abdul, by the way, in case you haven’t noticed, for a lot of reasons. … But if we mobilize the people, we win.”

Some of that has to do with the fact that President Donald Trump has mired his administration in unpopular policies, including his aggressive tactics on immigration, rising prices and a war in Iran that has drawn strong condemnations from both sides of the political aisle.

Sanders, in a 30-minute speech, touched on the growing inequality that has emerged in the era of Trump 2.0 including bringing the U.S. back into conflict with the Middle East and his belief that America was doing so at the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Although those factors have meant new hardships for the American people, it might mean success for candidates like El-Sayed and McKinney.

The pair cross-endorsed each other last week, and Sanders offered his blessing to both, as well. Both have a message for economic prosperity by way of progressive policies, like their support for Medicare for All, living wages for all workers and getting money out of politics.

Prior to taking the stage, El-Sayed told Michigan Advance that it means everything to have someone like Sanders in his corner.

“I talk about being consistent for the better part of the decade. He’s been consistent for the better part of a century,” El-Sayed said of Sanders. “I think it speaks to what he sees in this movement; that it echoes a lot of that work that he’s done to hallow the ground for a campaign like mine. A lot of folks like to make a lot about ethnicity and identity in these races. It means a lot to me that my number one, biggest backer, my first endorsement on Day One, is one of the most prominent Jewish American politicians in American history.”

El-Sayed added that Sanders’ endorsement “says a lot about the goals of this movement, which are less about identity and a lot more about principle and policy.”

El-Sayed said he also shared Sanders’ belief that the dynamics in the U.S. Senate race were shifting, and more Michiganders were resonating with his message — which has in many ways mimicked Sanders’ talking points.

“I think the experience of living in America right now, living in Michigan, is like running in quicksand. You run harder and harder and harder and find yourself sinking further and further and further,” El-Sayed said. “You can’t afford a second bag of groceries. You worry about whether or not you’re going to be able to keep your home, if you have a home, or whether or not you’re ever going to have a home if you’re under 40.”

“These are issues that people are facing around their lives, and it’s gotten worse,” El-Sayed continued. “And so it’s not surprising to me that we are in a moment right now where this message is resonating louder than ever.”

On stage, El-Sayed relied on his greatest hits reel: advocating for expanding Medicare coverage for all people, creating new affordable housing, protecting civil rights, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and ending financial support and military aid to Israel. 

It was in that vein that El-Sayed shared again his belief that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, was going to do everything it could to fund his opponents or spend money against him to weaken his position in the race. 

Stevens has received funding from AIPAC throughout her career in politics. McMorrow has disavowed AIPAC money but her campaign faced criticism for allegedly filling out an AIPAC position paper to seek its support. McMorrow has been endorsed by JStreetPAC, which also supports U.S. aid to Israel. The organization plans to hold an event for her in Chicago on May 11.

McKinney, on stage, focused on his economic message, saying that he understands living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make his own ends meet on the salary of a sitting state legislator while his wife raises their young children.

While there is a long road ahead until August, El-Sayed’s supporters remain strong in their belief that they can forge a path toward victory given the current climate.

Arika Lycan, co-founder of the progressive People’s Coalition, was among those in attendance and said that’s exactly what they and their cohorts were working toward. They’ve already laid some of that ground, Lycan said, as the People’s Coalition slate of candidates dominated the spring Michigan Democratic Party endorsement convention, which saw Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit emerge as the party’s nominees for secretary of state and attorney general.

The People’s Coalition has endorsed El-Sayed.

“I think that he’s got a message that has a really broad appeal. I like it that he’s looking out for the needs of common folks, whether it’s Medicare for all or getting money out of politics,” Lycan said. “I think there are a lot of Dems who are not willing to speak truth to power, and I think we need to do that if we want systemic change.”

Lycan said the time was always right for a candidate like El-Sayed to push through, but it depends on what kind of interference he’ll face, and how much organizations like the People’s Coalition can push against it.

“I think the showing out and turning out at the convention showed us people are motivated. People are willing,” they said. “They need to be told how to engage, where to engage, what the dates are, and they need a platform that speaks to them. And I think Abdul’s campaign has the ability to do that.”