\n<\/p>\n
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — <\/span>BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) \u2014 Abdul El-Sayed<\/a>, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, said Sunday he has spoken with Barack Obama<\/a> and hopes the former president campaigns with him as the party tries to unite after a bitter primary<\/a> that exposed deep rifts between its progressive and moderate wings. <\/p>\n El-Sayed said his Friday conversation with Obama was \u201creally warm and inspiring.” The candidate did not provide details. <\/p>\n \u201cI was grateful for his advice. It was very warm, very inviting, and I know that he knows the critical role that Michigan is going to play,\u201d El-Sayed told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press.”<\/p>\n Asked if he would like to see Obama come to Michigan to drum up support for Democrats before the midterm elections<\/a> in November, El-Sayed said he \u201creally\u201d hoped so and that Obama \u201cknows a lot about winning Michigan\u201d after carrying the state in the 2008 and 2012 presidential races. <\/p>\n An Obama spokesperson confirmed the call. <\/p>\n The discussion came the same day that a group of Michigan nominees and other notable national Democrats tried to present a united front at a rally in Detroit. The crowd cheered loudest for El-Sayed, a former public health official who last week narrowly beat<\/a> establishment-backed U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a contentious and closely watched primary. A Democratic victory in the fall is crucial to the party’s chances of regaining a Senate majority.<\/p>\n Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is not seeking reelection<\/a> in the perennial swing state, which Republican Donald Trump<\/a> won in 2016 and 2024, while Democrat Joe Biden<\/a> carried in 2020.<\/p>\n El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman who narrowly lost the Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in 2024 and has tried to capitalize on lingering tensions within the Democratic Party. <\/p>\n Rogers has released a video message attempting to appeal to Democrats who feel their party may be moving too far to the left with El-Sayed. \u201cYou have a home with us,” Rogers says in the video.<\/p>\n During an interview Sunday with CNN’s \u201cState of the Union,\u201d El-Sayed acknowledged that “we aired our differences\u201d in the heated primary. But he said the internal divisions are “so much smaller than the similarities that we share.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re seeing folks come together,\u201d El-Sayed said, before adding of moderate Democrats, \u201cWe might see the world differently. But we also recognize the responsibility to come together.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n