Greater Rochester residents will choose between two candidates with Oakland County ties this November after Michigan's U.S. Senate primary delivered its results Wednesday.

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a 41-year-old physician and former Detroit Health Department director, won a razor-thin primary over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, NBC News projected Aug. 5. He will face Republican Mike Rogers of White Lake Township in the Nov. 3 general election for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township.

It is Michigan's first open Senate seat since 2014.

Oakland County split in a tight race

Stevens, who represents Oakland County in Congress, won her home county but by only about two percentage points with roughly 70% of the vote counted, according to the New York Times' live results. El-Sayed built his margin in Washtenaw, Kent, Kalamazoo and Ingham counties, Bridge Michigan reported.

With approximately 95% of ballots counted statewide, El-Sayed led 48.6% to 47.3%, a margin of roughly 20,000 votes, according to the Detroit Free Press. About 4% of ballots remained uncounted Wednesday morning.

Stevens has not conceded.

The race was the third most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history, with $98.2 million in ad spending on the Democratic side, according to Bridge Michigan. Outside groups accounted for 88% of that total, with AIPAC's United Democracy Project alone spending more than $30 million backing Stevens. Stevens and her allies outspent El-Sayed's side roughly 9-to-1 on advertising.

"We didn't know they were going to spend $70 million of their money. We didn't know that they were going to outspend us $11 to $1. And yet we're still standing," El-Sayed told supporters at his election night watch party at the Majestic Theater in Detroit around 1 a.m. Wednesday, Michigan Advance reported.

Rogers brings local ties to the general election

Rogers, a former U.S. representative and FBI special agent who lives in White Lake Township, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He carries President Donald Trump's endorsement and is making his second consecutive Senate bid after losing to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin by roughly 19,000 votes in 2024.

Michigan has not elected a Republican U.S. senator since 1994, but Republicans came within a couple of percentage points in both 2020 and 2024. Cook Political Report rates the general election a toss-up.

At a Trump rally at GM's Milford Proving Ground in Oakland County on July 27, before the Democratic primary was decided, Rogers told reporters: "It's going to be either crazy or common sense. I think Michiganders are leaning common sense." (MLive reported the remark.)

What Rochester-area voters should watch

The Senate race's toss-up rating from Cook Political Report means Oakland and Macomb counties will be central to both campaigns' strategies. The 10th Congressional District, which covers southern Macomb County and part of Rochester Hills, is also seen as a political toss-up. Rochester and Rochester Hills sit squarely in the suburban swing territory both campaigns will target.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, who dropped out of the Senate race July 5 but remained on the ballot and drew about 4% of the vote, endorsed El-Sayed Wednesday morning.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. No debate schedule or local campaign stops have been announced. Residents can verify final primary results through the Oakland County Clerk's office or the Michigan Secretary of State's website.