El Sayed snubs Sanders and AOC in first general election campaign ad
Abdul el Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate and endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, notably did not mention these key endorsements in his first general election ad, which rather highlights support from labor unions. His primary victory, aided by the endorsements of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, positioned him as a left-leaning candidate who is more progressive than his opponent but does not identify as a socialist. He defeated primary rival haley Stevens by a narrow margin.
In the upcoming general election, el Sayed will face Republican Mike Rogers, who currently holds a slight lead in polls. Rogers’s campaign emphasizes issues like skilled trades and housing affordability, drawing on personal stories about his family. The article notes that progressives’ influence in the Midwest has shown mixed results, with some candidates like Francesca Hong losing primaries, while endorsements from prominent progressives like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez helped el Sayed secure his primary win.
Abdul el Sayed, the Democratic nominee for an open Senate seat in Michigan, neglected to mention his top endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in his first campaign advertisement for the general election.
The 30-second spot is largely identical to a previous primary election ad that featured endorsements from the two progressive lawmakers. The reused ad emphasizes his support from labor unions rather than from any individual politician.
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The snub is notable because progressives are openly blaming Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez for failing to support socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor this week. Hong narrowly lost to the more centrist David Crowley.
Meanwhile, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez helped push el Sayed to a primary victory last week with their endorsements. Though he doesn’t identify as a socialist, el Sayed leans more to the left than Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), his primary rival. The physician-turned-candidate beat Stevens by 1 percentage point in the competitive primary.
El Sayed now turns his attention to the general election in November, when he will go up against Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former Michigan congressman and a failed 2024 Senate candidate.
Republicans are hopeful Rogers can defeat el Sayed, whose progressive beliefs may turn away moderate Democrats and independent voters. No new major polls have been released since the Michigan primaries, but Rogers is slightly leading el Sayed by 0.3 points in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average. If Stevens won her party’s nomination, she would have had a better chance at beating Rogers.
El Sayed’s new ad emphasized his upbringing and his focus on affordability, with kind words from his grandparents.
“We helped raise him,” Judy and Jan said. “He became a doctor. He always wanted to help people. He got all those kids glasses. Eliminated medical debt. He buys us groceries every week. He knows what things cost. He learned his Michigan values in our small town.”
PROGRESSIVES HAVE MIXED SHOWING IN MIDWEST AS FRANCESCA HONG FUMBLES PRIMARY
Rogers also released a new ad for the general election, highlighting his goals of investing in the skilled trades and lowering housing costs for Michigan residents.
“My dad was a high school shop teacher, and he built our family home with his own two hands,” Rogers said. “As Michigan senator, I’ll invest in the skilled trades and put a shop class in every high school. I know how to lower housing costs. Let’s train more builders and fire more bureaucrats.”
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