El Sayed hails call with Obama, hopes former president hits campaign trail
Abdul el Sayed, a progressive Democrat, recently discussed his victory in the Michigan Senate primary and his conversation with former President Barack Obama, which he described as warm and inspiring. He hopes Obama will campaign with him and possibly endorse him before the November election, where he will face Republican Mike Rogers. The conversation focused on unifying the Democratic Party and strategies for winning the seat. El Sayed has received support from prominent figures like Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer. While Obama has endorsed other candidates recently, his potential endorsement of el Sayed remains uncertain. Despite backing from several Democratic leaders and progressive figures, el Sayed faces opposition from some Democrats wary of his policies, with Rogers actively contrasting himself and appealing to moderate voters.
Progressive Democrat Abdul el Sayed revealed he spoke with former President Barack Obama after his Senate primary victory against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Michigan last week.
The Democratic nominee described his conversation with the former president as “warm and inspiring” while the candidate turns his attention toward the general election.
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“I really enjoyed the conversation,” el Sayed said on NBC News’s Sunday morning program Meet the Press. “I was grateful for his advice. It was very warm, very inviting, and I know that he knows the critical role that Michigan is going to play in holding Trump accountable, in winning back the Senate, and in building forward the future that we need.”
The two reportedly discussed how best to unify the Democratic Party ahead of November when el Sayed will be taking on the Republican nominee, former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers.
El Sayed refrained from disclosing specific details of his private call, but he expressed hope that Obama would join him on the campaign trail.
“It was a really good conversation about what we need to do to be able to win, and obviously, this is somebody who knows a lot about winning Michigan,” el Sayed said.
“We talked a lot about what it’ll take to win,” he continued. “Obviously, his presence here in Michigan would mean so much to the coalition that helped elect him. So I hope that we get to campaign together.” Obama chose not to endorse el Sayed or Stevens before the primary.
In Iowa, Obama recently endorsed state Rep. Josh Turek in the Senate race for that state nearly two months after Turek’s primary win, raising the possibility of Obama endorsing el Sayed in the coming weeks.
El Sayed has the support of former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), as well as Stevens, following the primary. Notably, Whitmer backed Stevens before the centrist lawmaker lost. Retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who endorsed Stevens to take his place, has not released a statement in support of el Sayed since the primary.
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Left-wing politicians, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), backed el Sayed before the primary.
It remains to be seen if the progressive can win over Democrats wary of his politics in the last three months before the general election. Rogers released a video on Friday to capitalize on Democratic voters’ frustrations with el Sayed’s beliefs, telling those voters that they “have a home with us” instead.
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