Michigan Gov. Whitmer endorses Rep. Stevens in Democratic Senate primary ahead of Aug. 4 vote

Whitmer announced her endorsement in a video posted to Stevens' social media account and later appeared alongside Stevens and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) at a Teamsters hall in Detroit. "As governor, I have one strategy: Get things done. And that strategy informs everything that I do, and that's why I'm endorsing Haley Stevens for the U.S. Senate," Whitmer said in the video. At the Detroit event, Whitmer told supporters that Stevens has "what it takes to win" and described her as a fighter for Michigan.

Stevens also holds endorsements from outgoing Sen. Gary Peters and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. El-Sayed has been endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Whitmer previously defeated El-Sayed in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Early voting in the Michigan Senate primary begins Saturday.

Politico framed Whitmer's endorsement as her wading into "one of the highest-profile ideological battles within the Democratic Party," describing Stevens as representing the moderate lane and El-Sayed the progressive wing. The outlet noted that in her endorsement video, Sen. Warren praised El-Sayed's pledge to reject corporate money and took aim at Stevens, who has benefitted from outside spending — including nearly $30 million from the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project.