Michigan Democrats pick between moderate and progressive in high-profile Senate primary

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Democrats vote Tuesday in a closely watched Senate primary between moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed, with the winner heading to a November contest critical to the party's hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority.

The nominee will face former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed after narrowly losing a Senate race in 2024.

Democrats endured a bitter and expensive campaign that became a proxy battle between the party’s establishment and progressive wings. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed Stevens, while Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported El-Sayed.

Stevens is a four-term congresswoman from the outskirts of Detroit who has focused on manufacturing and the economy in a campaign she called a “love letter to Michigan.”

Asked Sunday about the race being a battle for two Democratic visions, Stevens replied: “It's a Michigan moment for me, baby.”

Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a race ever from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.

El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, is seeking a political comeback after losing the 2018 gubernatorial primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He campaigned on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform and ending military aid to Israel.

“We’re in a situation right now where the rich keep getting hyper-rich on the backs of figuring out how to monetize everyday people,” El-Sayed told AP during a Sunday afternoon march, as his supporters chanted behind him, “Money out of politics! Money in your pockets!”

Voters are also choosing nominees in competitive House races and to replace Whitmer, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection. The contentious Republican gubernatorial primary features U.S. Rep. John James, who is backed by President Donald Trump, and businessman Perry Johnson, who has spent millions of his personal fortune to try to clinch the nomination. For Democrats, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is the overwhelming favorite over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ retirement announcement in January 2025 stunned the party and set off a scramble to replace him. Hopes for a relatively orderly primary disappeared when Stevens, El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow all entered the race.

More than a year later the contest has become one of the nation’s most contentious Senate primaries. McMorrow suspended her campaign in July, leaving Stevens and El-Sayed to battle for the nomination.

Stevens won election to Congress in 2018 after serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, which helped oversee the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Her campaign and allied groups have repeatedly highlighted that experience, including advertisements featuring Obama calling her “a critical part of my team.”

Backed by Sanders from the outset, El-Sayed cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate and aimed to join the ranks of newcomers winning races this year across the country — sometimes unseating incumbents backed by party leaders, in places like New York and Denver.

He argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda. In addition to Medicare for All, his campaign centered on lowering prescription drug costs and banning corporate PAC money.

On Sunday, Markita Williams sat in the pews of First Baptist Institutional Church as El-Sayed addressed the congregation. Afterward, she said she had already planned to vote for him.

“I want to see a change,” Williams said. “For everyday people, not just the rich. The everyday people that help run this country.”

National groups poured unprecedented sums into the race, making it one of the country’s biggest tests of outside spending.

Groups backing Stevens spent more than $50 million, led by more than $30 million from AIPAC and its affiliates.

The spending thrust Israel policy into the center of the race even though the ads never mentioned it. While El-Sayed called for ending military aid to Israel, Stevens maintained strong support for the relationship.

Israel has become a contentious issue within the Democratic Party amid a war in Gaza that killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive after about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in attacks by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

The race also became a proxy fight over the direction of the party. In addition to Schumer, more establishment-aligned senators, such as Peters, backed Stevens, while progressives such as Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren lined up behind El-Sayed.

Trump traveled to Michigan on July 27 and gave a speech at a General Motors plant, at one point calling the gubernatorial hopeful James and several other Republican politicians, including Rogers, onstage. James, a second-term congressman, previously ran twice unsuccessfully for Senate.

The primary turned uglier than Republicans hoped, with Johnson spending big sums of money on ads targeting James. Johnson ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 and also launched a longshot presidential bid in 2024.

In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, much of the party including lawmakers and outside groups, such as the United Autoworkers union, coalesced behind Benson.

Meanwhile there are several competitive House races this year that will help decide whether Republicans hold their slim majority or Democrats reclaim the chamber.

In the 4th District, which stretches along Lake Michigan, Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann and election newcomer Diop Harris II are vying to become the nominee to try to oust GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga.

In the 7th District, former U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, community organizer William Lawrence and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam are seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the seat representing the Lansing area.

James' decision to run for governor left open his seat in the 10th District, which includes a portion of Oakland County and stretches across conservative communities in Macomb County. In the GOP primary, Trump endorsed Michael Bouchard against Steffan Demetropoulos and Justin Kirk. The Democratic primary features former state House Rep. Tim Greimel, former prosecutor Christina Hines and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

And in a heavily Democratic district representing Detroit, Rep. Shri Thanedar looks to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who argued that the city should once again have a Black representative in Congress. After Thanedar won election in 2022, Detroit had no Black representation in Congress for the first time since the early 1950s

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., second from right, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, appears with former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., from left, President of EMILY's List Jessica Mackler and Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., during a campaign event, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, talks poolside at a party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., talks to reporters during a campaign event, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, greets people at a campaign rally, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Authorities on Monday arrested a 37-year-old man they suspect of starting one of the devastating wildfires tearing through eastern Washington state as many residents were left wondering if their homes had survived.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said 37-year-old Aaron F. Farinacci was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire. He is being held on $1 million bond. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The fire that sparked Saturday is one of several burning around Spokane, the state's second-largest city. They are among the most destructive blazes in state history, together destroying at least 700 structures and forcing roughly 67,000 people to evacuate.

Earlier Monday, some residents returned to find their homes leveled by wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend, covering yards in charred debris. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

“There’s nothing to save,” Miriam Sim, 76, said Monday as she and her husband, Daniel Sim, surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived since 2005.

“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband asked.

The fires jumped roads and rivers and had burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday. The sky filled with smoke and haze. Calmer winds and lower temperatures arrived to help firefighters, but it was expected to be hot and dry again by midweek.

In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. Across the street, lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.

“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state's entire congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration.

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday they had cleared all but 14.

Those outstanding reports more likely represented people who had not been in contact since evacuating than people who were truly missing or in danger, authorities said.

The Spokane-area wildfires were completely uncontained, fire officials said. More than 1,000 firefighters, many from out of state, had arrived by Monday, and that number was expected to double in the next few days.

The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington, which has contended with severe drought and a paltry snowpack.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.

Angela and Wayde Deatherage, both 49, evacuated shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday with a son, grabbing a few bins of family photos and heirloom rings but not much else. Roughly 30 minutes later, their security camera was sending fire notifications to Angela’s phone.

Wayde Deatherage took some back roads and returned by early evening. He stopped at the end of the street and called his wife: “Our house is done.”

Deatherage, however, wasn't done with his neighborhood. He propped a hose at another house so it sprayed the property. That home survived.

The couple returned to their property Sunday.

“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage said of the home where they had lived for nearly 22 years. ”It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. ... There’s just so much loss for so many people.”

Karen Faggioli, 61, figured she would be returning to her home. She recalled how other recent fires had been brought under control. But a relative texted her the bad news: Her house and three vehicles were destroyed. A daughter lost her nearby house, too.

“Why cry? What’s crying going to do? I’ve been through so many tragedies myself,” said Faggioli, who is recovering from breast cancer. “This is nothing. Like I told my granddaughter, ‘We’re strong — and now we get all new things.’ I’m emotionally numb.”

Friends and relatives of fire victims posted online appeals for money, clothes and basic necessities.

Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.

A lightning-caused fire that has burned over 530 square miles (about 1,370 square kilometers) of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon continued to grow Monday. The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.

In central Utah, a blaze quadrupled in size over the weekend to nearly 109 square miles (282 square kilometers) by Monday afternoon. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to law enforcement.

Heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines, but forward progression was slowed toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County, officials said. Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the town's southern portion, and inmates at the county jail were transferred.

In Spokane, about 400 people were staying at city's main convention center, which was turned into a shelter, officials said.

Spokane Public Schools opened a free emergency drop-in camp for children on Monday. Trials at the county court were pushed to Aug. 10.

Several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane.

Johnson reported from Seattle, and White from Detroit. Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Spokane; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H.; and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed.

A worker with Avista moves through a property after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash., Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Miriam Sim, 76, reacts as she walks through the burned remains of her neighborhood after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash., Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Daniel Sim, 76, views the remains of his destroyed house after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash., Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Miriam Sim, 76, reacts while talking about her neighborhood largely burning to the ground after a wildfire hit the northern part of Spokane, Wash., Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Trees burned by a wildfire stand near destroyed structures in the Indian trail neighborhood, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Structures along W. Tiffany Ave. are burned to the ground after a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

A vehicle and structure are burned on N. Skyline Dr. due to a wildfire, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Kimberley Sather stands at the duplex she rents on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

People watch Old Trails Fire from W. Northwest Blvd., Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

Allen Sather and his wife Kimberley embrace at the duplex they rent on W. Indian Trail Rd. after it burned in a wildfire in Spokane, Wash., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)