Bernie Sanders stumps in Michigan as progressives eye another upset originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Bernie Sanders returned Sunday to Michigan, the state that re-vamped his underdog 2016 presidential campaign, hoping to boost the candidacy of another long-shot progressive looking to score an upset.

Sanders joined Abdul El-Sayed, 33, for two rallies -- the first at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit, and the second in the town of Ypsilanti, 30 minutes west of the Motor City.

Taking the stage Sunday afternoon in Detroit, El-Sayed -- who is trying to capture the Democratic nomination in this year's Michigan gubernatorial race -- echoed Sanders' populist rhetoric, asking the crowd: "Who here believes in democracy over corporate domination?"

PHOTO: Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a health care rally on Sept. 22, 2017 in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Image, FILE) More

"We’ve got a broken politics, our politics right now have been dominated by corporate interests," El-Sayed told the crowd, saying both parties are to blame for the issues plaguing the current political system.

El-Sayed also trumpeted his plan to create a "Medicare-for-All" healthcare system that he dubs "Michicare." He added that the state needs to "de-Devos" its education system, an ode to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

Sanders hearkened back to his upset victory in the state over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential primaries.

"On the day before the presidential primaries here in Michigan, the polls had me 27 points behind," Sanders told the crowd. "That was pretty good, because the poll the day before had me 36 points behind.

"Well, we won that election, and by the way, so will Abdul," Sanders said.

Sanders also took a swipe at those claiming that the progressive agenda that he and candidates like El-Sayed are pushing are not broadly popular among the American public.

"What that victory in 2016 showed is that the ideas that we talk about, the ideas Abdul talks about, are not fringe ideas, they are mainstream American ideas," Sanders said as he thanked the crowd for his upset victory over Clinton.

PHOTO: Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidates from left, Shri Thanedar, Gretchen Whitmer and Abdul El-Sayed are seen during their first debate in Grand Raids, Mich., June 20, 2018. (Pool via AP, FILE) More

Sanders also took plenty of shots at the president, saying: "We need governors like Abdul to stand up to the greed and pathological lying of Donald Trump."

Attendees at the rally were eager to hear Sanders' message, and view El-Sayed as a chance to send Trump a message.

"It will be great to see a real progressive candidate in Michigan’s governor’s office," said Tariq Nusier. "It’ll be nice to see a switch towards the progressive, to show the country what Michigan is actually about."

Nusier, 17, cannot vote in this Tuesday's Democratic primary, but says he plans to vote in the November general election.

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