Opinion

MORNING GLORY: Five Senate races show why Democrats may regret their primary choices

From Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to James Talarico in Texas, GOP opponents are casting themselves as moderate alternatives

By Hugh Hewitt Fox News

Published September 17, 2026 5:00am EDT

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Mike Rogers slams El-Sayed's apology as 'sad attempt' to stem bleeding

The Michigan Senate race intensifies as Republican candidate Mike Rogers rejects his Democratic opponent's recent apology to Jewish Democrats. Rogers argues that Abdul El-Sayed has a long history of inflammatory remarks, causing concern among voters. He claims Jewish residents in Michigan are reaching out to his campaign as the group's support swells ahead of the November election.

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Abdul El-Sayed. James Talarico. Peggy Flanagan. Troy Jackson. Chris Pappas.

These are not your parents’ Democrats. They aren’t even the 2016 or 2020 Democrats.

They aren’t even Kamala Harris Democrats.

MEET THE FAR-LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN 2026 MIDTERMS

Across five battleground Senate races, Democrats have nominated "outliers"—hard-left radicals whose appeals to voters have sent their would-be constituents headed toward the GOP’s alternatives in each state where the races are being waged.

In Michigan, radical Abdul El-Sayed beat Rep. Haley Stevens—an old-school, big-government liberal—by 1 percentage point in a race that pollsters often had him up by double digits, and his smallest projected margin had been seven points. Voters were turning on him even then as they learned more about his radical views.

SCANDALS, SOCIALISTS AND TRUMP ROIL PRIMARIES, SEND INCUMBENTS PACKING AT NEAR-RECORD PACE

El-Sayed eked out a win in the primary, but mainstream Republican Mike Rogers, who served 14 years in the House of Representatives, including a term as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, quickly established himself as a normal, pro-American Michigander with a love of football, Mackinac Island and Ford trucks—all of which El-Sayed had disparaged. Meanwhile, El-Sayed tried without effect to delete radical Hasan Piker from his bio, even though everyone in Michigan had seen Piker carry El-Sayed over the primary’s finish line and campaign with the........

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