Kamala Harris returns to campaign trail to boost El-Sayed as competitive Senate race heats up

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the midterm campaign trail Tuesday, September 22, joining Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as the party seeks to unite voters behind him in one of the country's most closely watched Senate races. The appearance marks Harris and El-Sayed's first public event together since she endorsed him following his victory in a contentious Democratic primary.

El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, is facing former Republican Representative Mike Rogers in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen Gary Peters. Democrats need to hold the Michigan seat as they try to regain control of the Senate in November. Harris' visit comes as El-Sayed seeks to consolidate Democratic support following a primary that exposed divisions among different factions of the party. Several election polls suggest Sayed holds a narrow but consistent lead over Rogers.

Kamala Harris joins El-Sayed as Democrats seek unity after bruising primary

Kamala Harris, seen as part of the Democrats’ traditional wing, is set to join progressive Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on the campaign trail in Michigan.

Michigan result is crucial to the party’s fortunes in this fall’s midterms, and the presidential primary to follow.

Kamala Harris has arrived in Michigan for the roundtable discussion on Black maternal health and appearances aimed at building support among Black voters and unifying the party in the key swing state.

As a Vice President in past, Kamala Harris focused on Black maternal healthcare issue.

Michigan has a key role to play in Harris’s future political plans as it is also poised to become one of the first six states to vote in the Democratic nominating process under a new calendar approved by the Democratic National Committee this year.

The visit also puts Harris back in a state that could matter if she decides to seek the Democratic presidential nomination again in 2028

Notably, Kamala narrowly lost Michigan in 2024.

Harris targets party unity and voter turnout during Michigan swing

Kamala Harris is scheduled also attend a private reception with Michigan leaders hosted by the Oakland County Democratic Party and its chair, former Rep. Brenda Lawrence. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson is also expected to speak at the event.

Later, Harris will meet separately with Rev Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP’s Detroit branch, Rev. Genetta Hatcher of The Room Church and other faith leaders. The meeting will focus on voter turnout.

“People like her,” Anthony told CNN on Monday. “People like the fact that this African American woman who was vice president, for the first time in the nation’s history, is coming back to the ‘D’ to talk to us about the importance of voting.”

About 2028 primary, Anthony said, “nobody has a lock on anything.”

El-Sayed leads Rogers in new Michigan Senate poll

Although El-Sayed won the primary on the strength of his support among progressives, black voters supported Stevens.

Former Rep Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee, has openly appealed to Black Democrats as well as Jewish voters amid El-Sayed’s sharp criticism of Israel.

A new survey released Tuesday, Sept 22, revealed that El-Sayed hold 7-point advantage over his GOP opponent, Rep. Mike Rogers.

The Suffolk University poll found that 47 percent of likely Michigan voters backed El-Sayed, while 40 percent said they supported Rogers in the November contest.

Eighty-one percent of Democrats backed El-Sayed and 90 percent of Republicans supported Rogers, according to the survey.

Suffolk University Political Research Center Director David Paleologos also noted El-Sayed's advantage among voters who are not affiliated with either major party, a potentially important group in a closely contested battleground state.

The stakes extend well beyond Michigan. Democrats are defending the seat being vacated by Peters while simultaneously trying to pick up Republican-held seats elsewhere in their effort to win control of the Senate, making the El-Sayed-Rogers contest one of the races likely to help determine the chamber's balance of power in 2027.