WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gave Michigan Senate hopeful Dr. Abdul El-Sayed a tepid endorsement not long after the former public health official called for his ouster,
During his anti-establishment campaign, El-Sayed took swipes at Schumer (D-NY), whom he wants replaced as Democratic leader. Schumer returned the favor by preferring El-Sayed’s foe Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who lost by a 1% margin Tuesday.
“Look, at the end of the day, the current minority leader has given all of us ample reason to question whether or not he would be our best bet heading into a cycle where we might have the majority, and I think there’s absolutely room for change,” El-Sayed told The Post over the weekend.
El Sayed endorsed Sen. Chris Van Hollen for Schumer’s job, saying he’d be “an amazing majority leader” instead of Schumer.
“Chris Van Hollen would be perfect,” he told The Post.
Any hope of Democrats retaking the Senate majority runs through Michigan – and now getting El-Sayed elected in November. The Democratic establishment is forced to coalesce around El-Sayed, who wants Medicare-for-All, ICE abolished, and Israel defunded.
Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairwoman Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) released a joint statement saying that they look “forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November.”
The vague language appeared to be an endorsement. Gillibrand’s spokesperson confirmed it was, but Schumer’s spokesperson referred The Post to the DSCC, which didn’t comment. Schumer used similarly vague language about former Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner before making it clear he backed him.
“Schumer just wants to win,” one Democratic operative bluntly told The Post. “This isn’t his ideal candidate, but it’s probably enough to win the race this cycle in his mind. And El-Sayed needs the support to win. So they’ll make it work.”
El-Sayed and Schumer had a call after the Tuesday primary, which the Senate Democratic honcho described as a “great conversation.”
“What people don’t understand is that a big tent is a strength, not a weakness,” Schumer told Punchbowl News. “It’s how you build a majority.”
“The issue is not me,” he added at another point when pressed on El-Sayed’s comments about him. “The issue is doing what working families want and showing clear distinction between the parties and showing the road to victory.”
But both sides are keen on presenting a united front to take on Republican Mike Rogers, with El-Sayed participating in unity events this week with Stevens, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others.
“Schumer and the DSCC support the candidates who are best positioned to win the majority and, barring a major scandal, they always back the primary winner,” one Dem strategist told The Post.
“They are single-mindedly focused on winning races, regardless of Schumer’s personal politics with a given candidate. That’s leadership.”
Schumer previously distanced himself from the ever-growing socialist movement, but says the Democratic Party will utilize a “big tent” approach to win back the Senate in the midterms. He’s also defended moderates like Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has bucked the progressive wing of his party with his stanch support of Israel.
The unease between mainstream Democrats like Schumer and the far-left cuts both ways. Still, the two aren’t alone in turning the page on the bruising primary fight.
“We supported Stevens because she had the best chance to hold the seat. Now, primary voters have spoken,” Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend the Vote PAC, told The Post. “There’s still work to do, but it appears that Democrats are unifying, which will be necessary to win this race.”
El-Sayed has also begun largely pivoting away from his attacks on the Democratic establishment and turned his attention to Rogers, teeing up a very nasty political fight.
“Our candidates are not all the same. There’s different backgrounds. They’re from different states,” Schumer stressed to Punchbowl News. “But they have one shared mission — winning the Senate and delivering for working families. And so we’re really on a strong foot.”
Notably, El-Sayed didn’t completely rule out the possibility of ultimately backing Schumer, when pressed repeatedly by The Post, if it came down to a choice between the Brooklyn native and, say, Israel-supporting Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
“A vote is a choice between two or more options. I don’t know what other options are. If it happened to be a guy named John Fetterman from Pennsylvania, or Chuck Schumer, well then, I’d make a different decision,” the lefty Democrat said.
