When Abdul El-Sayed became Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee last week, his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, immediately attacked his “ideological fanaticism” on crime, terrorism and taxes. Unmentioned: El-Sayed’s support for Medicare-for-all, a system in which the federal government would become nearly the only provider of health insurance.

Based on the frequency with which El-Sayed brings up health care, he clearly thinks the issue is an asset for him in the race. Perhaps Rogers agrees with that assessment. If so, he will miss an opportunity to devalue it or even convert it into a liability.

El-Sayed is one of the first candidates in a competitive statewide election to support Medicare-for-all. Troy Jackson, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, is another. Peggy Flanagan, seeking to represent Minnesota in the Senate, is a third. Yet there are sound reasons to think the idea could become a weight on these candidacies.

Americans, for all their complaints about the health care system, generally dread the prospect of Washington disrupting their insurance. Many surveys have found that most people are satisfied with what they have. When Bill Clinton proposed a more government-run system........

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