With fewer than 48 hours left in Michigan’s fiercely contested Democratic Senate primary, and after more than a year spent preaching starkly different visions for their party, Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens went to some of the same places looking for the votes to win it. First, Black churches. Later, union halls. Then rallies surrounded by their core supporters.
Plus, formal termination of the “anti-weaponization fund,” a full lookahead at all of this week's primaries, polling on immigration and a revamp for Head Start. |
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Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, walks from Anthology Coffee to the Spirit of Detroit during the March of the Many, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
El-Sayed and Stevens make final Democratic Senate primary push in Michigan churches, union halls — By Joey Cappelletti
Where the candidates chose to make those final points reflected the simple contest underneath all the money and ideological warfare: which one can assemble enough of Michigan’s Democratic coalition to win Tuesday.
The primary has become one of the clearest tests yet of where Democratic voters want their party to go. El-Sayed, a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leaders on the party’s left, has run against much of the Democratic establishment.
Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and many of Michigan’s top Democrats, has made electability and experience central to her case.
The stakes extend well beyond the primary. The nominee will need to bring a fractured Democratic coalition back together to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in November and hold an open seat that is critical to the party’s hopes of taking control of the Senate next year.
Democratic primaries in Michigan have long run through Detroit, where support from the city’s Black voters is often crucial.
El-Sayed’s pitch to those voters Sunday — during stops at three churches — centered on a vision of economic opportunity and equal treatment. He was joined by Democratic Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as Yusef Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson who is president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Stevens, meanwhile, emphasized her longstanding connections to Detroit-area churches. She and her allies have also made a direct appeal to Black voters through advertisements highlighting her ties to former President Barack Obama and her work as chief of staff for his administration’s auto rescue effort from 2009 to 2011.
Read more from Cappelletti on the Michigan primary's closing days. |
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Blanche rescinds $1.8 billion fund for Trump supporters |
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) |
GOP holdouts say they will vote to advance Blanche’s nomination for attorney general — By Mary Clare Jalonick and Alanna Durkin Richer
Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's bid to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will vote to advance his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The statement from Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis came after Blanche issued an order late Sunday formally rescinding the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department. Cornyn and Tillis had said they would not support Blanche's nomination without written confirmation that the fund is dead.
Blanche said at a June hearing that the Justice Department would not move forward with the fund to compensate those who believe they were unfairly prosecuted, as he faced bipartisan outrage over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be considered for payments.
But Cornyn and Tillis, both members of the Judiciary panel, had said they wanted to see the promise in writing before they endorsed Blanche's nomination — especially as Trump continued to express support for the idea. In a statement, Blanche said the order came after “good faith discussions.” Read more from Jalonick and Richer on the assurances and Blanche's path. |
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AP Elections Spotlight: The wild, wild Midwest |
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., left, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, accompanied by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., speaks during a campaign event at the UA Local Plumbers 98 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Madison Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
After a brief lull in July, primary season resumes with gusto on Tuesday with hotly contested nomination fights in the Midwest, as well as primaries on opposite coasts that will set the stage for two of this fall’s most competitive U.S. House races.
Michigan Senate: A win by Abdul El-Sayed over Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary would give progressives their biggest victory to date this year, extending a winning streak that began earlier this summer with House primaries in New York City and Denver.
Michigan progressive candidates have performed best in Washtenaw and Kent counties in recent elections. A close race in Wayne County, home to Detroit, could signal a tough night for Stevens, since county voters often favor establishment Democrats in primaries. Hillary Clinton trailed Bernie Sanders throughout much of the state in the 2016 presidential primary, but she still almost won based largely on her showing in Wayne.
Missouri House: Republicans in The Show-Me State redrew their congressional maps with the hope of ousting one of the state’s two Democratic U.S. House incumbents, but both Democrats face tough reelection bids this year.
The St. Louis-based 1st District remains largely intact, but freshman U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell faces a rematch with the congresswoman he ousted two years ago, Cori Bush. The contest has once again attracted the attention – and ad dollars – of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s political action committee. In the Kansas City-based 5th District, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver is unopposed in the primary but will face one of six Republican hopefuls in a heavily redrawn district that swung from being 61% for Kamala Harris in 2024 to 58% for Trump.
Kansas Governor: State Senate President Ty Masterson has Trump’s endorsement but faces two deep-pocketed opponents in business executive Philip Sarnecki and Secretary of State Scott Schwab. Trump’s 2026 picks have mostly won their primaries, but some notable exceptions have been in gubernatorial races. In the Democratic primary, state Sen. Ethan Corson has a big fundraising lead and the endorsement of term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
On the Coasts: Former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria is running for her old Virigina Beach-area seat, which she lost to Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans in 2022. Luria is the best-known and best-funded candidate in the Democratic field of four and has Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s endorsement. Kiggans is unopposed in the GOP primary.
In another coastal district more than 3,000 miles away, Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state’s 3rd District faces an all-party primary field that includes state Senate Minority Leader John Braun, who has Trump’s backing. Either seat could decide control of the chamber in November.
Read more from Robert Yoon on this week's primaries in Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia and Washington state.
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The latest AP-NORC Polls: Why immigration remains strong for Trump among Republicans |
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents make an arrest during an early morning operation in Park Ridge, Ill., Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) |
Why immigration remains strong for Trump among Republicans, according to a new AP-NORC poll — By Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Linley Sanders and Mike Catalini |
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