A pair of Democratic senators announced they are taking sides in two contested Senate primaries.
In Michigan, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., endorsed former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, a staunch progressive.
“We need fighters in the Senate who want to dismantle a broken status quo that isn’t working for the American people and to take on the big money special interests working to rig our economy and our politics in favor of the billionaires — at the expense of everyone else,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
The Michigan primary has divided high-profile senators, with Van Hollen joining Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in backing El-Sayed. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has endorsed state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has backed Rep. Haley Stevens. Former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has also endorsed Stevens.
Stabenow weighed in on another contested Democratic primary, backing Rep. Angie Craig in the Minnesota Senate race.
“Angie is a tough, effective legislator with the experience to take on the Trump administration on Day 1 while also delivering economic relief for Minnesotans,” Stabenow said in a statement.
The race between Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has also divided Democratic senators. Flanagan has endorsements from Sanders, Warren, Van Hollen, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and others. Craig has endorsements from more than a half dozen senators, including Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.