After notching a narrow victory in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, progressive Abdul El-Sayed is sticking to his support for Medicare for All, the universal healthcare proposal that El-Sayed acknowledged would most likely come with higher taxes.

"We don't have to live like this. We have an opportunity to guarantee cradle-to-grave healthcare," El-Sayed said Sunday in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press."

Pressed on whether free healthcare would lead to higher taxes for people who make under a million dollars a year, he argued that those people would be open to paying more in taxes in exchange for "durable healthcare" that wasn't a condition of their employment.

"I think a lot of us would be a lot more interested in that kind of system if we knew our healthcare would be free at the point of care," El-Sayed said.

El-Sayed, a former public-health official, edged Rep. Haley Stevens by 1 percentage point in Michigan's primary on Tuesday. Polling had predicted El-Sayed would win the seat handily, and the narrow margin reflected how torn Democratic voters were in selecting between El-Sayed, who was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Stevens, who had the support of moderate Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

El-Sayed's Sunday comments offer a window into the challenge he now faces as he tries to sell overtly progressive ideas to Michigan's purple electorate. His rival in the November election, former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, released a video this week seeking the support of Michigan Democrats and independents who felt alienated by El-Sayed's vision for the state and the country.

El-Sayed notched support from voters who no longer want to back Democrats' moderate, establishment candidates and are skeptical of the party's support for Israel. He ran in part on ending aid to the country, offering single-payer healthcare, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He also called for getting money out of politics.

Medicare for All was a staple of Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign and has never gained serious traction on Capitol Hill, in no small part because it has been estimated to increase federal subsidies for healthcare by between $1.5 trillion and $3 trillion a year by 2030.

Medicare is a government-run healthcare plan that was created in the 1960s, and it primarily covers healthcare for seniors. There are currently more than 70 million Americans who receive benefits under the program, which is partially funded by payroll taxes.

"We'd be paying for healthcare in a different way," El-Sayed said, noting that premiums for families today can cost thousands of dollars a month.

El-Sayed doesn't identify as a Democratic Socialist and said during the interview he considers himself pro-capitalism.

In response to his comments, Sen. Jim Banks (R., Ind.) called his views "extreme."

"If he happened to get elected in the November election, he would make Bernie Sanders look squishy," Banks said.

Progressives are hoping the party can unite around candidates like El-Sayed as Democrats head into the general election.

"I think that this really is a moment, not just in Michigan, but across the country, where the party is unifying," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

But El-Sayed is also facing criticism for refusing to distance himself from controversial figures like online commentator Hasan Piker, who said at one point that America "deserved 9/11" but has since walked back those comments.

El-Sayed denounced Piker's comments on 9/11 but said he wanted to continue to talk with Piker's audience so his listeners understand there is "a pathway into our politics," he said.