A Michigan Muddle
El-Sayed didn’t get the clear victory he expected in last night’s Senate primary.
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Today in Free Expression, columnist Louise Perry explains how President Trump inspires an unusually strong parasocial relationship with his audience; Mary Julia Koch unpacks why young people are falling short of traditional life milestones; and Joshua C. Robertson reveals how pastors reclaimed education after pandemic-era school closures.
But first, if you seek a significant election result, look about you . . .
Stickin’ in the Mitten
—Jack Butler
So much for an unblemished triumph for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. The state is still tabulating results; Mr. El-Sayed appears narrowly but consistently ahead of Rep. Haley Stevens by about 20,000 votes.
Sure, even a narrow victory would be a big deal for the far-left faction to which Mr. El-Sayed belongs. Especially given his baggage. He spent the closing weeks of his campaign distancing himself from the Democratic Socialists of America. He’s not a socialist, he claimed; he’s a “capitalist” and a “scientist.” OK. But many DSA-types, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, as well as streamer Hasan Piker, endorsed him. He supports the misleadingly named policy known as “Medicare for All,” wants to “reform” (read: neuter) the Supreme Court, abolish the Senate filibuster and ICE and more.
If these seem like positions his Democratic colleagues may agree with, to varying extents and degrees, Mr. El-Sayed has distinguished himself by his obsession with Israel. Publicly, he’s called the war in Gaza a “genocide,” advocated cutting off all U.S. military aid to Israel and lambasted the “the impact of Aipac in our politics.” Privately, he said he’d be quiet about the death of Ayatollah Khamenei because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad” about it.
But Michigan Democratic primary voters didn’t totally ignore his liabilities. Maybe Ms. Stevens’s relentless appeals to regional particularity, electability and legislative productivity were more powerful than the “coastal elites” she derided thought. Maybe Mr. El-Sayed’s presumptive posturing as a national figure wasn’t as potent as he hoped.
Yes, he has proved the far-left faction has energy outside places like New York and California. But internecine forces helped Ms. Stevens put up more of a fight than polls suggested she would. Parts of the Michigan Democratic establishment, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the retiring Sen. Gary Peters, whose seat is the one up for grabs, rallied to Ms. Stevens. Her opponent’s “path of anger,” as she dismissed it, seems to have appealed to wealthy urban progressives and residents of college towns, yet fared worse elsewhere.
And Ms. Stevens was right that Mr. El-Sayed is already thinking past this November. He wants to reshape the Democratic Party. In leaked remarks, he spoke of encouraging a primary challenge to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who could end up his Democratic colleague in that chamber. “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,” he said.
Before Mr. El-Sayed can go about setting ogre heads on pikes, however, he’d have to consolidate a Democratic Party that’s less united behind him than he anticipated. He’d also have to win in November. Can he? The Democratic candidate is likely beginning the most straightforward test yet of whether the movement he aspires to join—whatever his prevarications—has purchase beyond a primary. Michigan is one of the swingiest states, the sort of place where one wouldn’t ordinarily take electoral risks. Polling indicates he’d have a tough time against Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost a Senate race to Elissa Slotkin in 2024.
Mr. El-Sayed has confirmed his far-left faction is a serious force in American politics. Yet he’s hardly proved that its success is inevitable.
Break Point: Women’s basketball star Sophie Cunningham has a new ally in her stand against transgender athletes entering girl’s and women’s sports: Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 women’s tennis player. During a tournament in Toronto, the Belarusian player was asked about the Women’s Tennis Association’s new rule requiring all players to take a one-time gender test. “I think it’s really important to keep the fairness in our tour,” she said. “It’s obvious that biologically the men are way stronger than women.” What sounds like a political statement today wasn’t considered so radical more than a decade ago, when tennis legend Serena Williams stated the power of biology: “If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0 6-0 in 5 to 6 minutes.” — Mary Julia Koch
Return Serve: A San Francisco father says he was almost fined $192 for playing tennis with his kids at a public tennis court. According to the San Francisco Standard, Sam Dogen was playing tennis at Golden Gate Heights Park with his two children, ages 6 and 9, when park rangers, armed with batons, approached and told him that he needed a permit. To do what, exactly? As it turns out, San Francisco requires a permit to coach tennis, with a $192 fine for violators. The rangers left Mr. Dogen alone when his children pointed out that he was their dad. — Emma Camp
Whale of a Time: The waters of New York and New Jersey are turning into a hotspot for humpback whales. Whale-watchers recently spotted the 500th of these majestic creatures in the area, Gotham Whale, a local whale-tracking nonprofit, told Gothamist. Cleaner waters and changing migration patterns for the whales’ prey have made the region more attractive for the giants of the sea. They have to be mindful of shipping traffic, however, which can prove dangerous even to whales. But next time you’re gazing at the water around NYC, keep your eyes peeled: Thar she might blow. — J.B.
Politicians Aren’t Our Friends
Louise Perry
President Trump is perfectly suited to the age of the screen. Few politicians are as comfortable with the camera lens or as adept at generating short-form videos that circulate on social media.
Of course, he isn’t speaking to an audience. But viewers at home feel they’re being addressed directly. It’s an illusion of friendship.
Read Louise’s Column ⧁
Gen Z Is Struggling to Grow Up
Many young people are stuck feeling . . . well, young. A combination of economic strain, new technologies and changing cultural tides has young people struggling to attain the independence their parents enjoyed at the same age.
Fauci’s Unintentional Gift to Families
When the pandemic hit and schools closed, I watched families in my congregation in Harrisburg, Pa. suffer in ways I never could have imagined. In my view, God used Anthony Fauci to help more pastors find their voice and vision for education.
By Joshua C. Robertson
‘Elites’ Are Whoever You Want Them to Be
But you probably won’t count yourself among them.
By Emma Camp
Canada Has an Antisemitism Problem
And its leaders don’t know how to confront it.
By Harry Khachatrian
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Democrats support socialists.
They frame it as “big tent” but imagine the GOP approving a Nazi party candidate - MSM would go berserk, every Democrat would condemn all Republicans and vow revenge (wait - that already happened)…..
But these neo-religious Socialists are approved by the DNC Soviet comrades.
Let’s find out how stupid voters actually are.