Pete Buttigieg joined Michigan Democrats at a unity rally in Detroit, urging supporters to unite behind Abdul El-Sayed and the party’s statewide candidates after a divisive Senate primary. He said Michigan was being watched nationally and internationally to see whether Democrats could build the coalition needed to win, highlighting the state’s importance in the fight for control of the US Senate.

El-Sayed, a former public health official aligned with the party’s progressive wing, narrowly defeated establishment-backed Representative Haley Stevens for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Senator Gary Peters. More than 1,000 people attended the rally, where candidates stressed unity ahead of El-Sayed’s general-election contest against Republican Mike Rogers, with less than three months remaining before polling day.