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Congressman Max Miller Staying in Race?; Abdul El-Sayed Projected to Win Michigan Senate Primary. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 05, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

(APPLAUSE)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Mike Rogers is the guy who wants to put a data center in your backyard so he can make himself feel a little bit more manly by making an A.I. video.

(LAUGHTER)

EL-SAYED: Mike Rogers is a guy who is never shied away from a DTE check so he could turn his face in the direction of Florida.

Mike Rogers is a guy who will do anything Blue Cross Blue Shield wants him to do, including raise your rates. Mike Rogers is a guy who introduced legislation to increase the flow of opioids. He did that while I was in high school.

Mike Rogers is a guy whose politics and vision and perspective are old. Mike Rogers is a guy who has never shied away from a corporation he could do a favor for. Mike Rogers is a guy who, believe it or not, went back to Florida so he could lick every single boot Donald Trump owns, to beg for his endorsement.

I'm so sorry. If you want a senator who's going to lick some boots, fine, go vote for Mike Rogers. But if you want a senator who's going to stand up to Donald Trump, then you have got your option right here.

(CHEERING)

EL-SAYED: And what's funny about Mike Rogers is that he's like the worst of all versions of the Republican Party, right?

He's the worst of the neocon version. I mean, he was in the House during the entirety of the Iraq War. He left because he got tired of it. And then he swore up and down he could never support Donald Trump, until, of course, he was licking Donald Trump's boots.

So now he carries the burden of both of those things. Is he MAGA? Is he neocon? Nah, man, he's just a corporate sellout.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: So, Mike, I'm going to say right here, I know you're going to say no because you're a coward, five debates, all right? (CHEERING)

EL-SAYED: If you're willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes.

But I'm going to make sure Michiganders know about them, because by the time we're done, you are not going to have safe quarter from people holding you accountable to what you have done for them here in Michigan. We will send you back to Florida, where you belong. Five debates. I'm hoping for an answer today.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: It's going to be a lot of fun, my guy.

But I want to finish here because it's not about Mike Rogers. It's not even about Donald Trump. It is about who we are as a country. I worked in that building right there. In fact, you could see the window of my former office.

And there are moments I had to pinch myself, because my story in America is about as unlikely as it gets. But for an accident of history that allows my dad to immigrate to Detroit, to go to Wayne State University, I was supposed to be a cab driver in Egypt, like my cousins.

I would spend a lot of my childhood summers in Egypt. I'd spend them there with a front-row seat to what my life should have been, except for I got to be born in America, where I got vaccinated against diseases that killed an aunt and uncle I never got to meet. They died before their first birthday.

I got to go to amazing public schools, an incredible public university. I got my medical education paid for by a public agency at the NIH. That's what America gave me. Now, the crazy thing is, I grew up not 20 minutes from here.

And in traveling 20 minutes, I travel a 10-year life expectancy gap. I got to meet kids who never got the opportunities I got, despite the fact that their families had been here far longer than me. I know what America gave me, but I also know what America continues to deny too many of her own children. And a lot of my work in that building right there was about trying to address exactly that.

And I kept running up against one thing, the kind of politics that tell us that we cannot invest in those children because we should be sending their money to deny rights to other children abroad, a politics that tells us that the corporations should do what they can and the rest of us do what we must, a politics that tells us that our democracy is there for the taking if you have enough money to take it.

And so when the opportunity to run for U.S. Senate came up, I realized that this was a fight not just against Mike Rogers and Donald Trump. It was a fight for the kind of America that can give what I had to all of her children. That is the work in front of us. This country of ours, this America of ours is more than a flag. It's

more than a set of colors. If you're a patriot, then you better fight for an America that is America for all of her kids. That's what this is about, building a movement to take our democracy back to serve the people who absolutely deserve the best of what America has to offer them.

[11:05:03]

That's the commitment all of us are making. So whether you voted for me or voted for my opponent or didn't vote at all, we're inviting you to that movement to get money out of politics, so we can put money back in pockets and finally guarantee the promise of health care through Medicare for all.

And I am so honored, so honored for all of the folks who've already invested. To all the folks who haven't, I cannot wait to meet you and let's go win in November.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, we have time for about three to five question. Hands up for question, please, and say your name and outlet when called on.

Start here.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) with the Associated Press.

You mentioned that you spoke with Congresswoman Stevens earlier. Can we talk a little bit about what was said, if she indicated whether she would be endorsing you?

EL-SAYED: She will absolutely be endorsing us, and she will be fighting alongside us to make sure that we defeat Mike Rogers and win the future in November.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A question. Local? Oh, here.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (OFF-MIKE) Arlette Saenz with CNN.

This was a very tight race, perhaps closer than you had hoped or expected, about 15,000 votes right now between you and Haley Stevens. Does the fact that this was such a tight race make it more difficult for the Democratic Party to unite and also reach out to those swing voters who might be looking and seeing, well, Democrats couldn't even agree on their candidate here?

EL-SAYED: Well, I'd love to get others' perspective on this, but let me give you mine.

You heard about the historic turnout. Sometimes, intrafamily squabbles are the biggest ones. But we all know that, when we walk out the house, we stand united. And sometimes we got to have it out about the conversation about who we are and who we want to be. And I think -- I will tell you that the things that unite us are so

much bigger than the things that divide us. If anything, when you have got 500,000 more voters who came out to be a part of a process to pick a nominee, that means that their voices have been heard.

And we're going to build a movement that reaches out to everybody. I know not everybody's going to agree with me on everything. That's not how this works.

But I do know that they agree with me on the need to beat Mike Rogers and the need to hold Donald Trump accountable, and the need to provide people health care, and the need to address the affordability crisis that is making it so that all of us struggle simply because we ought to pump gas or go to the grocery store, and the need to stop fighting stupid wars we should never be fighting.

There is so much more we agree on. So I'm looking forward to unifying together. The congresswoman and I, the senator and I,we have had some great conversations about where we go from here, and we cannot wait to come together and win in November.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Dr. El-Sayed, what do you think has been your biggest challenge (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: We're going to let -- we're going to let the chairman answer this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

As our future senator said...

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: You have been listening to Abdul El-Sayed, who CNN projects has won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, you heard him say there, with his win, "We shook up the world" -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Very dramatic statement indeed.

And we want to welcome our viewers, Pamela, here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Abdul El-Sayed defeated the moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens in a very contentious and close race. He will now advance to take on Republican Mike Rogers in November. These results could potentially signal where the Democratic Party is headed.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on the scene for us in Michigan. She's covering this primary for us.

Arlette, I know you just questioned El-Sayed during that news conference. Tell our viewers what he said.

SAENZ: Well, Wolf, Abdul El-Sayed is here speaking, so I'm speaking a little bit quietly. But he talked a lot about the need for the Democratic Party to emerge from this primary united. And I specifically asked him if he was concerned at all about the incredibly tight margins in this race and whether that will make it more difficult for Democrats to unite and for swing voters who might be looking at this and say that there wasn't a consensus even among Democrats about who their nominee should be.

Now, El-Sayed said to me that sometimes the internal family squabbles are the ones that are the biggest, but he ultimately thinks that there is still a lot where both sides, El-Sayed and Stevens supporters, continue to have common ground on, and they feel that they will be able to bring the party as they keep their main focus on trying to defeat former Congressman Mike Rogers, who is the GOP nominee here in November.

But El-Sayed really used a lot of his remarks earlier before he started taking questions to try to make that appeal across the board within his party, but also reaching out to other voters who might be more swing voters, might be potential Trump voters that he wants to try to bring into the fold, arguing that a lot of what the progressive movement has stood and the energy that has been around them is something that can carry this November fight.

[11:10:02]

But, certainly, this is a major moment for the progressive movement, as El-Sayed has been able to declare victory here in a battleground state that...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Arlette, hold on for a moment. We're -- he just took another question. I want to hear what his answer is.

EL-SAYED: You know what is? Their B.S. policies. So he can point to my name all he wants. But also will tell you this. I have been an Abdul in Michigan my whole life. This is like the best place in the world to be Abdul.

You know why? Because Michiganders are -- they're big-hearted. They're open-minded. They're earnest, and they're gritty.

(APPLAUSE)

EL-SAYED: And Michiganders are sick and tired of B.S. politics coming in to divide us, when there's so much more we can unite to actually guarantee if we're willing to come together around it.

So, if all Mike Rogers has got is that his name is Abdul, and my name is Mike, you're going to be surprised how many people are like, yes, but that's the Abdul who wants to bring down the price of my groceries and gas and stop us sending money abroad and make sure that I got health care. So, yes, I like that Abdul over your Mike from Florida.

(APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

QUESTION: Doctor, thank you, Ed O'Keefe with CBS.

ED O'KEEFE, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: You talked about -- well, you addressed Jewish voters in the state and the concerns they may have (OFF-MIKE). You know that the Republicans and others will seize on one other thing, and that is things you said in the past, one of them back in April after the attack on the synagogue here in Michigan.

You gave a statement about what had happened. And among other things (OFF-MIKE) hurt people hurt people. And it's that part of your statement that has caused a lot of concern for Jewish voters. Republicans are going to seize on it. What did you mean? Do you regret saying it?

EL-SAYED: What I mean is that hurt people hurt people, that maybe if we're serious about ending the hurt, we should stop hurting people.

That's what I mean. I condemned the attack. It was a vile antisemitic attack. And I think it's important for us to be asking the big picture question about what's happening now. You have got a Republican Party that is morally bankrupt, that is actively hurting people.

And I think, if we're serious about addressing a lot of the crises as they stand, maybe stop trying to divide people from each other. Stop trying to pass policies that have us going to war, instead of investing here. Stop trying to nickel-and-dime people at every turn because of the corporations you support and do favors for.

And so, look, I stand in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers. And we can condemn antisemitism, and, at the same time, we can be talking about how we bring people together. And we can be talking about everybody's pain.

And I think anybody who does not want to do that is not serious about actually addressing the hurt that we see across the board. So I'm trying to unify people around the things that we need and deserve in this country. And, as I said, my commitment to Jewish safety is the same as I have got a commitment to my own kids. And that's the highest commitment I can offer as a father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, press. We're going to wrap there.

EL-SAYED: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: All right, so there we have Abdul El-Sayed, who's now the Democratic candidate for the Senate from the state of Michigan. He's going to be running against Mike Rogers in November. He defeated Haley Stevens in this primary contest.

And now he is reaching out to people in Michigan, including the Jewish community in Michigan. Arlette, we heard him say he wanted to address specifically what he

called "my Jewish sisters and brothers" and make the case that he was against antisemitism, even though he's very critical, of course, of Israel.

Give us a sense of how big of an issue potentially this is in Michigan, a large Arab American community in Michigan, Muslim community, but also a very significant Jewish community in Detroit and elsewhere in Michigan.

SAENZ: Yes, Wolf, the politics of Israel really loomed large throughout this entire campaign.

And I thought it was notable, not just that El-Sayed addressed that here in that question, but it was included in his introductory remarks as well, saying that he acknowledges he needs to do additional outreach to the Jewish community at a time when the politics of Israel have been very divisive and heated for the Democratic Party.

We saw throughout this campaign El-Sayed had criticized a lot of Israel's actions relating to Gaza, and he also took aim at the amount of money that had poured into this contest by AIPAC, that pro-Israeli lobby group, which had spent more than $30 million to help boost his opponent, Haley Stevens, in this contest.

So that is an area where El-Sayed likely will have some work to do as he tries to bring Jewish voters into the Democratic fold and ensure that they don't peel away to Republicans in November. But I thought overall El-Sayed in his remarks tonight really -- or today -- really had stressed that call for Democratic unity.

He knows he needs to be able to keep the party together in this moment. There's various factions and coalitions within the party, between progressive, establishment. If you think of the prominence of black voters, especially in an area like where we are in Detroit, that was a key coalition for Haley Stevens.

[11:15:12]

He will need to bring them into the fold if he wants to be able to keep the party together heading into November. But Republicans, Wolf, have made very clear that they plan to outline even newer lines of attack against El-Sayed in these coming months.

We have seen already digital videos from Mike Rogers' campaign, from the campaign arm of Senate Republicans. They have released videos trying to paint El-Sayed as too radical for Michigan voters. They have also tried to tie him to some of those more controversial figures within the Democratic Party, for instance, like Hasan Piker.

He was featured very prominently in a lot of those videos that were released today, so a lot of work ahead for El-Sayed if he wants to keep this Senate seat blue in November. And, of course, Michigan will be a key part of either party's road to the Senate majority next year.

BLITZER: Certainly, it will be a battleground state. Arlette, thank you very much.

Arlette Saenz on the scene for us in Michigan -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, joining us now in THE SITUATION ROOM are Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign Karen Finney. They are both CNN political commentators.

And, boy, do we have a lot of politics to talk about today.

Karen, I want to start with you. This Michigan Senate primary went down to the wire. And that, in and of itself, is notable. You just heard Abdul El-Sayed's victory speech. Do you think he will be someone who will be able to bring Democrats together?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I absolutely do.

I mean, look, the turnout that we saw, the historic turnout, he mentioned this in his remarks, across the board, not just in the Senate race, but also looking in the gubernatorial primaries, I mean, Democrats turned out in huge numbers to make their voices heard.

And I do believe we need to not underestimate the impact of how badly people want to defeat Donald Trump. And Mike Rogers has been out there saying that he will be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. Particularly in a state like Michigan, that is problematic.

There's so many issues that have hurt Michiganders, starting with tariffs, and I could go on, where I think the ability to unify and to put together a winning coalition, I think Sayed is up to the task.

BROWN: So let's talk a little bit more about Mike Rogers.

Shermichael, the GOP Senate, Mike Rogers is out with this new statement labeling El-Sayed a -- quote -- "extremist." Many Republicans were openly hoping for El-Sayed -- an El-Sayed blowout in this Democratic primary. But this was close.

How are members of your party feeling about Rogers' chances in November?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it was very close, but Mike Rogers is correct.

He is an extremist. This guy is not a traditional, moderate-leaning Democrat who believes in bipartisanship. This is someone who comes of the vein that you have to destroy everything and build it all over again. This is someone who said you should defund the police. He doesn't believe ICE should exist at all.

So I suppose no level of enforcement for immigration in our country, according to some of his beliefs. And though he says he's not a member of the Democratic Socialists, he hangs out with a lot of Democratic Socialists.

Mike Rogers is someone who spent years in the FBI fighting corruption, white-collar crimes. He's someone who spent years as a public servant trying to keep our country safe as chair of the Intelligence Committee while in the House. This is someone who has years of experience, bipartisanship, working across the aisle with Democrats, which is something that we don't see often anymore, something that I would argue most independent voters, Pamela, would like to see a return to.

They do want a fighter. I will give Karen credit there. Democrats, I believe, want a fighter. Independents want a fighter. But what they do not want is someone who's going to say let's destroy the entire system, because Americans still believe in the system. They just want the system to work. And Mike Rogers is that guy.

BROWN: Karen, I know you have a lot to say in response, so I'm going to give you that time.

And also what do you make of Democratic voters in a purple state being so narrowly divided by these two very different candidates in Michigan?

FINNEY: Yes, well, a couple things.

Those are the talking points you're going to hear over and over and over again. And we're also going to -- I'm going to just predict right now this is going to become a very racist, bigoted attack against a -- the first Muslim American to run for -- to win a nomination and be and potentially become a senator. So those are the talking points.

That being said, look, it was narrowly divided because -- I think Abdul said something really powerful. We're having an internal conversation in our party about, what's the way forward? How are we going to not just fight Donald Trump, but what do we want to then fight for when we are back in power?

And if you look at his record, again, I think there's a lot that Michiganders will like about how he has worked inside the system actually. He's talked about it, where he was able to get $7 million of medical debt erased for 300,000 people.

[11:20:11]

He was part of Joe Biden's Health Care Task Force. This is a person who understands how to move an issue, move policies. But they were -- primaries are about trying to highlight differences. So, of course, it was pretty divided. And that was their job.

But, again, this is -- we can't underestimate how powerful the desire to send a signal and to check power of Donald Trump is going to be in the general election here.

SINGLETON: Pamela, if I can quickly, I just want to make one thing clear.

It is a big moment for many Arab Americans in this country to see El- Sayed do so well. This has nothing to do about his ethnicity or his familiar background. He's an American. That's an irrelevant point as far as I'm concerned as a conservative. FINNEY: That's you. That's not going to be what the talking points

say.

SINGLETON: My point -- my point is simple. There is an ideological shift occurring with within our country right now on the Democratic side.

There are individuals who don't have college degrees, blue-collar workers. There are older voters of color who clearly did not -- you look at some of the exit results -- did not vote for Mr. El-Sayed. That is a strategic problem that he's going to have to reconcile with in order to build the coalition necessary to win.

This is a purple state. This is not New York City. It is not Washington, D.C. And that is why I believe Mike Rogers will have a strategic and a structural advantage, specifically as it relates to targeting independent voters.

BROWN: I wonder, though, what you say, Shermichael, to Karen's point about the turnout here. I mean, this was record turnout for a primary.

Does that concern you at all that Democrats are energized and fired up because they don't like what President Trump is doing or what Republicans are doing?

SINGLETON: Well, look, it is a point that of contention for us on the right to reconcile with the reality that a lot of Americans have real legitimate pain points economically.

We have to address that. But I think to draw the contrast to someone like a Mike Rogers with the opportunity and the experience to again work across the aisle to address the issues of affordability and housing, et cetera, for the American people that they're yearning for recognition to address, as opposed to getting to someone who's going to go to the Senate and be a no against everything, including his own party.

We have seen what some of these DSA candidates have articulated. They want to not only burn down many of the things they disagree with.

FINNEY: He's not DSA. He's a capitalist. He's a Democrat.

SINGLETON: They want to shift things within their own party that make it unworkable. I don't think that's what people want.

BROWN: Go ahead quickly, Karen.

FINNEY: Yes.

No, I was just going to say, I mean, he's made it very clear he's a capitalist. Look, I'm going to just quote somebody who won the presidential primary in 1988, Reverend Jesse Jackson, in Michigan. He is going to put together a rainbow coalition of independents, of Democrats, of moderates, of people who want -- you don't have the kind of turnout we saw yesterday if you're not committed to defeating a candidate who is in the mold of Donald Trump. Unfortunately, Mike Rogers won't be able to be the kind of person

Shermichael is talking about, because, as we have seen, none of the Republicans have been able to do that with Donald Trump in the White House.

BROWN: All right, thank you both. Great discussion. Shermichael Singleton, Karen Finney, Always lovely to have you both on.

FINNEY: Thank you.

BROWN: And a quick programming note: Abdul El-Sayed will appear on "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And we will, of course, be watching.

Still ahead, a CNN exclusive: Congressman Max Miller's fiery denial of abuse allegations. We will talk to our own colleague Jake Tapper about his interview with the Ohio Republican, as pressure builds for him to drop his reelection bid.

Lots going on. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:28:28]

BLITZER: Happening now: denial and defiance.

The embattled Congressman Max Miller says he's staying in his race for reelection, despite abuse allegations by his ex-wife and others. The Ohio Republican again denied those allegations in a fiery new interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

But pressure on his campaign is clearly mounting -- Pamela.

BROWN: Miller's former father-in-law Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno is calling for him to drop out, and Miller told CNN that President Trump called him and told him it would be a tough race for him to win, all while the House Ethics Committee is now saying it is reviewing allegations of -- quote -- "domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use."

Our colleague Jake Tapper joins us now.

Jake, you did this extensive interview with Congressman Miller. First of all, tell us more about how he's responding to all of this.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Well, as Wolf said, defiantly.

He is denying any and all wrongdoing, and there are a lot of allegations, not just from Emily Moreno, his ex-wife and the mother of their little girl, but also other women. So that was one of the main questions I wanted to ask him, not just about Emily Moreno's accusations, but those of other women.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: There are now three women, three women, who have accused you of violent behavior.

Politico published a report in 2021 that says, when you were in high school, you -- quote -- "pushed a girl out of the dorm of his room, and she fell down some stairs, after he became enraged when she resisted his attempts to touch her, according to three people who were there and many more who heard about the incident in the aftermath."

Now, you deny that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)