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Michigan just proved that money has its limits in elections. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed beat out establishment sweetheart Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in what was likely the most expensive Democratic primary in U.S. history.
El-Sayed’s win was a major blow to the super PACs and shadowy nonprofits that spent tens of millions against him, but the story is far from over. AIPAC and its affiliates claimed five other victories around the country this week, and dark money groups are now training their sights on the general election in November.
Today on Lever Time , Natalie Bettendorf speaks with David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect , about Abdul El-Sayed’s landmark win in Michigan, the must-watch primary races ahead, and the bizarre new landscape of political campaigns. They discuss the pop-up and shell PACs, billionaire-backed nonprofits, paid influencers pushing political messages, and the surprising lack of federal oversight in the 2026 midterms.
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More Lever reporting on AIPAC and the money influencing this year’s midterms:
- The Pro-Israel Lobby’s Quiet Cash Shuffle
- Inside The Israel Lobby’s New $90 Million War Chest
- Operation AIPAC Fury
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This episode was produced by Natalie Bettendorf . The video and audio were edited and mixed by Ron S. Doyle . Our theme music is by Nick Byron Campbell . Marketing support, ad sales, and hosting from the Podglomerate .
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TRANSCRIPT
Following is an automated, unedited transcription of this episode. The text may contain grammatical or spelling errors, especially for proper nouns, or attribute text to the wrong speaker. If you plan to quote any part of this transcript, please first confirm that it is correct by listening to the audio.
[00:00:00] Natalie Bettendorf: From The Lever's reader-supported newsroom, it's Lever Time. I'm Natalie Bettendorf.
[00:00:05] NBC News: And there it is, folks. NBC News Decision Desk is officially projecting that Abdul El-Sayed will win the Democratic primary for the United States Senate in Michigan.
[00:00:15] Natalie Bettendorf: This week, another political earthquake in the swing state of Michigan as US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly beat Congressperson Haley Stevens in the hotly contested Democratic primary.
El-Sayed's win was not a landslide. It was a nail-biter. But his win was likely a surprise to the Democratic establishment and the political action committees that opposed him. Here's El-Sayed speaking to his supporters on election night.
[00:00:50] Abdul El-Sayed: you know that the billionaires, the corporations, and the special interests, they weren't going to give up lightly. We all knew they were gonna spend their money. We didn't know they were gonna spend $70 million of their money. We didn't know that they were gonna outspend us $11 to $1... And yet we're still standing.
[00:01:18] Natalie Bettendorf: Despite those staggering odds, El-Sayed won. Now, the former public health official who's pushing progressive policies like Medicare for All is heading to the November general election, where he'll face off against Republican Mike Rogers.
[00:01:33] Abdul El-Sayed: However we might feel about the campaign we've just come through, I want you to understand that it pales in comparison to the cynicism, in comparison to the corporatism, in comparison to the lies that Mike Rogers and Donald Trump are going to tell.
[00:01:55] Natalie Bettendorf: What happened in this week's Michigan primary was not the whole story. While the pro-Israel group AIPAC and its affiliates lost against El-Sayed, they claimed victories in five other races this week, and dark money groups are now shifting their focus toward the general election in November
As the primary season winds down, we wanted to unpack what's happened so far and take a look at what's ahead. So we called up an old friend of the podcast.
[00:02:21] David Dayen: I'm David Dayen. I'm the executive editor of The American Prospect, and that is at prospect.org.
[00:02:28] Natalie Bettendorf: Today on Lever Time, David Dayen and I take a closer look at the insiders, the influencers, and the infiltration of dark money that's dominated the midterms this year.
Has the power of money finally reached its limit? Are we on the cusp of a new era in American democracy?
That's all coming up on today's episode of Lever Time.
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Big Money Lost To Abdul El-Sayed. Where Will It Go Next?
Aggregated summary from an independent source. Read the original at LeverNews.