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‘I hate Democrats, but I love Abdul’: voters who left over Gaza return for progressive push

Michigan Senate nominee and others have re-energized one-time Democratic voters who abandoned the party under Biden

Two years ago, Zainab Bibi Ahmed thought she had turned her back on the Democrats for good. Now, she is volunteering for the party’s US Senate nominee in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.

Ahmed was one of 100,000 people to vote uncommitted in the February 2024 Democratic Michigan primary, in a bid to send a message to then US president Joe Biden about his support for Israel, as people watched what Amnesty International later called a “live-streamed genocide” in Gaza on their screens.

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© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

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Why Polling Chaos Could Create Big Problems for American Politics

Bad polls. Misleading betting odds. Surveys meant to shape narratives. Ahead of the midterms and 2028, there is suddenly serious confusion about candidate strength and voter sentiment.

© Finn Gomez/Getty Images

Polls fueled a widespread belief that Representative Haley Stevens, a moderate Democrat, was a major underdog in Michigan’s primary for Senate to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive. She ended up losing by just a percentage point.
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America Ends a Summer of Lightning-Fast Primaries and Political Speed Dating

Plot twists in several states have led to rapid-fire races that have felt more reminiscent of European-style snap campaigns than traditional American marathons.

© Meg Kinnard/Associated Press

Senator Darline Graham and Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina
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University of Michigan Names President After Prior Pick Faced Brain Cancer

The university chose a Vanderbilt academic, Cybele Raver, after a previous candidate for the role had to step down because of a brain cancer diagnosis.

© Emily Elconin/Associated Press

The University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
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How Cyclospora Evaded the U.S. Food Safety System to Sicken Thousands

The Trump administration delayed a rule last year that could have sped up the effort to pinpoint the source of the contamination. Critics charge that food safety oversight has eroded overall.

© Al Drago for The New York Times

Last year the Food and Drug Administration cut a program that tracked cyclospora outbreaks and delayed a rule that would have required companies to swiftly provide supply chain records in investigations of foodborne disease outbreaks.
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