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WINNERS AND LOSERS: A review of the May 28 Michigan Democratic primary debate.Senate hopefuls Abdul El-Sayed, Mallory McMorrow, and Haley Stevens faced off in a one-hour debate last Thursday over who would be the best Democratic nominee for Michigan’s 2026 Senate election.The debate can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5L9FFdEQe8 Here’s some takeaways from the debate.Winner: Abdul El-Sayed Confident and comfortable with himself, El-Sayed came away the clear victor from the debate.He answered questions succinctly, demonstrating preparedness whilst showing authenticity.He went on the offensive, checking both Stevens and McMorrow for their political donations and votes.He stuck to his populist themes: anti-oligarchy, anti-billionaires, campaign finance reform, and most importantly, Medicare-for-All.He created time for his policies to be discussed, such as the billionaire’s tax, something his opponents failed to do.He clearly differentiated himself from his opponents and frequently won the applause of the audience.El-Sayed’s performance in this debate strengthens his status as the emerging frontrunner in this Senate primary.Winner: The Public The debate was very well executed, with moderators Nolan Finley and Stephen Henderson demonstrating outstanding professionalism whilst conducting the debate.The moderators enforced time limits strictly, and the candidates followed them.The moderators were not afraid to ask tough questions, including asking Stevens how the money she takes from AIPAC impacts her votes.While candidates at times attacked each other, there were no arguments.The debate concluded within an hour with five rounds of questions for the candidates.A real pleasure to watch.Inconclusive: Mallory McMorrow McMorrow made no terrible mistakes, but had no breakout moments, either.She answered questions with ease, though some answers felt a little forced.McMorrow framed herself as the as the anti-Republican candidate, a frame which moved the conversation away from who she was and emphasized her opposition.She had a great answer regarding the work she had done on A.I.and data centers that showed her initiative, but a response from El-Sayed which added that she had voted to allow data centers in Michigan blunted the answer’s momentum.In the debate’s most viral moment, McMorrow stated she supported a public option instead of Medicare-for-All because, to paraphrase her, we don’t have time to wait for a revolution to bring about Medicare-for-All.The answer had a puzzling conservative bent to it which, in this environment of Democratic rank-and-file who are desperate for change, probably won’t go over too well with the base.McMorrow demonstrated her chops, but she’s got her work cut out for her after this debate.Loser: Haley Stevens The debate was a disaster for Stevens.Time and again, Stevens simply refused to answer a given question, instead delivering cartoonish speeches filled with overly general platitudes about how great Michigan is and how we need “jobs”, “growth”, and, of course, “to combat China”, an out-of-place remark that was inauthentic.Towards the end, Stevens’ routine felt like something out of an SNL parody.With no concrete policy commitments and a heap of feel-good platitudes, Stevens came across as being uninterested in genuinely engaging the public and hoping to instead cruise to victory on institutional support.Stevens did not make the case for herself; if anything, she shot herself in the foot.She dropped opportunities to address her support from AIPAC and institutional Democrats like Chuck Schumer, both of which are unpopular, and instead came off as out-of-touch.Stevens’ was a tough performance to watch, and she leaves the debate in a much worse position than when she entered.