U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaigns at Blazin Wade Cuts in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. Photo by Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images.
Michigan’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is a three-way dead heat, according to a new poll conducted for Drop Site News and Zeteo.
The poll from Data for Progress found that 22% of likely Democratic primary voters support Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed by Bernie Sanders and a vocal critic of Israel; 23% support Haley Stevens, a pro-Israel Democrat who is being backed by party leaders in Washington, D.C.; and 22% support Mallory McMorrow, the J Street-endorsed candidate positioning herself in between Stevens and El-Sayed.
Notably, a third of voters were undecided—and a majority (64%) said they are less likely to support a Senate candidate who receives donations from AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups, while 10% said they are more likely.
Data for Progress polled 515 likely Democratic primary voters in Michigan, from April 2-8. The poll tested what would happen in a two-way race, and found McMorrow would benefit more from El-Sayed dropping out than vice versa: His voters are more likely to consider McMorrow their second choice, whereas McMorrow’s are more likely to call Stevens their second choice, suggesting that McMorrow and El-Sayed are not simply splitting the more progressive vote.
However, in all of the scenarios that were polled, a plurality of likely Democratic primary voters remained unsure as to whom they would support—suggesting that the race remains fully up for grabs with three-and-a-half months left before the August 4 primary election.
And, the poll indicates, Michigan primary voters appear to be far more concerned about the influence of AIPAC, America’s top pro-Israel lobby, than that of Hasan Piker, the leftist Twitch streamer who campaigned with El-Sayed at two Michigan universities last week.
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The poll found 62% of Michigan Democratic primary voters agreed that they are less likely to trust a candidate would stand up for Michiganders in general if they won’t stand up to AIPAC; 13% disagreed with this sentiment.
Stevens has long been an AIPAC favorite. AIPAC’s political action committee raised over $340,000 worth of direct campaign donations for Stevens in early 2025, just before she announced her bid for Senate, though it has not raised money directly for her Senate campaign. Last month, Stevens taped a promotional video for AIPAC, which in 2022 helped her oust former Michigan Democratic Rep. Andy Levin, a progressive who was supportive of Israel but argued for Palestinian rights.
El-Sayed and McMorrow have both been critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, though McMorrow has been reluctant to describe it this way—and has instead complained that the word “genocide” has become some kind of “political purity test.”
As Drop Site News previously reported, McMorrow privately drafted a “position paper” for AIPAC, according to one of her supporters, before publicly demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and saying that “this violence needs to stop.”
McMorrow has been endorsed by the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street.
Meanwhile, voters did not come to the poll concerned about El-Sayed’s decision to hold rallies with Piker—despite the aggressive anti-Piker cancellation campaign led by the centrist think tank Third Way, which was egged on by both McMorrow and Stevens.
Per the poll, 13% of likely Democratic primary voters in Michigan view Piker favorably, while 7% view him negatively. The vast majority of them say they don’t know enough about Piker to have an opinion about him.
The poll then gave voters more context on the controversy to assess whether it would influence their vote. They were told that El-Sayed’s opponents had criticized him for planning rallies with Piker, accusing Hasan Piker of antisemitism and highlighting past controversial remarks, and that El-Sayed has argued that criticism of Israel should not be confused with antisemitism.
Asked then whether they approve or disapprove of El-Sayed inviting Piker to join his rallies on college campuses, 40% said they approve, 30% said they disapprove, and 30% said they weren’t sure.
The full poll results are available here.
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All those taking money from, or collaborating with AIPAC are traitors