Obama Gives Michigan Democrats A Show Of Unity
(DETROIT) – Two months after the Michigan Democrats’ state nominating convention left questions about party unity when the top-ticket candidates did not all share a stage, the nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, attorney general and Secretary of State stood hand-in-hand with former President Barack Obama Saturday as the campaign entered its final 10 days.
Obama made that case for unity explicitly, even acknowledging past criticism of his presidency from Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
"Some of these folks say, 'Well, Abdul didn't like some of the things you did as president,'" Obama said, noting that everyone isn't going to agree on every detail of every issue. "You know who else doesn't agree with everything I do? Michelle Obama. Disagreeing on means is different from disagreeing on ends, on our goals . . . That's the kind of disagreement we want in a democracy."
The remarks came as Obama stumped for Michigan Democrats up and down the ballot, including El-Sayed, gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, attorney general nominee Eli Savit, secretary of state nominee Garlin Gilchrist II and Democratic congressional candidates. Organizers said 4,350 Michiganders attended the rally at Cass Technical High School between the main venue and an overflow space.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) who narrowly defeated El-Sayed's current Republican opponent, Mike Rogers in 2024, also addressed the ideological differences within the Democratic ticket, pointing to questions from the media about how Michigan could produce "these two senators."
"The difference these days under this president is not between progressive versus moderate. It is between team fight and team flight," Slotkin said. “And whatever disagreements we may have, and we do, it's OK because we agree on so much more, which is putting a check and balance on Donald Trump in the White House.”
The differences Obama acknowledged were paired with admiration from El-Sayed, who earlier in the rally described Obama's rise as formative to his own political path.
For El-Sayed, that foundation was watching "a skinny guy with a funny name" do what he had thought was impossible, a campaign he said still offers "a guiding light and fitting lessons" for the work ahead.
El-Sayed said those lessons extended beyond winning office to what a candidate does once there.
"So when they tell me, 'Well, his name's Abdul though,' I remind them his name was Barack," he said.
Exactly to that point, Obama said that when a movement builds to challenge the political system, those who "benefit from the status quo" will do anything to stop it.
"They will use lies, and they will use fear, and they will use division, and their name or your faith to somehow suggest that you are dangerous and less than trustworthy and less patriotic and less American than they are," Obama said. "We have seen this movie before."
And on an issue where the two have not always agreed, Obama framed El-Sayed as someone who could carry out his legacy.
"Abdul is fighting for change, real change," Obama said, including "change that will finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable health care to every single American."
El-Sayed called the remark "an honor" after the rally, saying to reporters he remembered sitting in medical school when the Affordable Care Act passed and thinking it was a major step forward, but that more remained to be done.
"I think it's time for us to move out of the starter home and, you know, into the final home," El-Sayed said.
Asked afterward whether the night settled the debate about unity within the Michigan Democratic Party, El-Sayed said, "I think it should," but that he'd leave it to "smarter people" to decide. He quickly pivoted to unity "on the ground" he'd seen across the state during his campaign, then pointing to the crowds he brought out in the Upper Peninsula.
Benson, on the other hand, called Obama's appearance a "great boost" to Democrats in the closing days of the campaign, when she was pressed about voters who remain skeptical of supporting the full Democratic ticket or are considering splitting their ballots.
"I think what you saw tonight was extraordinary enthusiasm," Benson said, pointing to the packed main room and overflow space. "And that enthusiasm was only bolstered by the former president Barack Obama being here."
Among those in the crowd were John and Melissa Stewart, a married couple who traveled from Saginaw and said they voted for El-Sayed in the primary because they were ready for change within the Democratic Party and were concerned about the amount of money being poured into campaigns.
Neither was decked out head to toe with campaign merchandise compared to many other attendees. John wore jeans and a flannel and Melissa wore jeans and a T-shirt, with each sporting a single campaign pin.
The Stewarts framed their concerns around their 11 grandchildren. They said they want them to be able to afford groceries and healthcare. Showing up in the election, they said, was to teach their grandchildren that a president cannot behave the way they believe the current one has.
Obama cast Michigan’s election as potentially the "last best chance" to put a check on the Republican administration in Washington, calling it the "circuit breaker in the system."
He also said winning the election was only part of the task, ending with a plea for what he wanted politics to look like on the other side of it.
“I am tired of anger and division,” he said. “I want some friendship and neighborliness and joy, and everybody rolling up their sleeves in the common enterprise of rebuilding this country and then handing it off to our kids a little better than it is right now.”
