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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Democrats on Friday to unify under the party’s candidates, highlighting the growing division between establishment and progressive members amid the current wave of primaries.
Clinton told journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher that, with Democratic candidates like Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed winning their races by slim margins, the party should prepare for voters’ “reluctance” — which she said she experienced firsthand after being chosen as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016.
In mid-July, Democratic strategist James Carville called the new wave of progressives “insurgent” following recent wins from democratic socialists and similarly warned against intraparty division. On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on Carville to “start his own party” as the pundit continued his criticism of Democratic candidates.
“I think there’s no doubt that the Republican Party is the Trump cult and the Democratic Party is a bigger tent,” Clinton told Swisher. “We do have a broad cross-section of people, what they believe, what their experiences are. I think that’s an advantage, but we also have to win general elections.”
The former secretary of state focused on El-Sayed’s narrow victory over left-leaning moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) on Wednesday in the race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). He will face former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), whom President Trump endorsed, in this fall’s midterms.
One of the policy areas where El-Sayed and his challenger differed was their stances on United States aid to Israel — a point of contention that resonates throughout the Democratic Party.
El-Sayed, like some other progressive Democrats, called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide.” He also criticized the Stevens campaign’s ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a group that has grown increasingly controversial among party members.
“The real fight will be how do we make sure that people who voted for Haley feel comfortable voting for Abdul El-Sayed, and how do we get Independents to feel comfortable,” Clinton said.
In her appearance, the former secretary of State also referenced Trump’s several Truth Social posts calling El-Sayed a communist, one of which referred to the Democratic nominee as a “Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel” and called his victory “great news for the Republican Party.”
Republicans have similarly targeted Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates, who also have seen a series of primary wins, with the “communist” label. Clinton said she anticipates this framing of progressive Democrat and DSA candidates will be “very effective” for Republicans.
El-Sayed, whom Trump criticized throughout a Las Vegas speech earlier this week, responded to the president’s remarks in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Wednesday evening, inviting him to “focus on what I’m saying” regarding policy.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Gary Peters Haley Stevens Hillary Clinton James Carville Kara Swisher Mike RogersCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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