With Michigan Senate race undecided, Abdul el Sayed goes after Mike Rogers, Israel, and ICE
Abdul el sayed, a former public health official and progressive candidate, is closely contesting Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary against Haley Stevens, wiht about 96% of votes counted. el Sayed holds roughly 48.5%, while Stevens has 47.5%, with key results expected from wayne County. Although he hasn’t declared victory, el Sayed expresses confidence and plans to face GOP candidate Mike Rogers in the general election. El Sayed criticizes Rogers for previous corporate ties, his residency history, and his recent political activities. The candidate also campaigns against large corporate donors and organizations like AIPAC, advocating for the reduction of foreign aid to israel, and emphasizes fighting antisemitism and Islamophobia. Additionally, he opposes continued unconditional military aid, criticizing Israeli prime minister Netanyahu for recent aggressive policies, and calls for abolishing ICE, describing it as a harmful entity. The Senate Leadership Fund has launched a $45 million campaign to support Rogers and portray el Sayed as a threat to American safety and freedoms.
Former public health official Abdul el Sayed maintained a thin margin over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) on Wednesday morning as Michigan continued to count ballots in its Democratic Senate primary.
With about 96% of votes totaled, el Sayed held about 48.5% of the vote, while Stevens inched closer to the progressive candidate with 47.5% of the vote, according to the Associated Press live results Wednesday morning. Much of the remaining votes are expected to come in from Wayne County, where Detroit is located.
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Though he has not yet declared victory in the race as the results remain too close to call, el Sayed is taking his narrow margin and projecting confidence. The progressive candidate appeared on MS Now’s Morning Joe at the top of the 7 a.m. hour, setting his sights on the Trump-endorsed GOP candidate, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), whom he would face in the general election.
“This is a guy who’s never seen a corporate dollar he did not want to use to corrupt his office,” el Sayed said. “He made $14 million after leaving Congress and moving to Florida to play golf, and he’s back for a second helping. We know that if we bring people together around a movement to take our politics back, we really can beat him.”
The progressive candidate called on the Republican nominee to “stand for something,” challenging Rogers on things such as expensive consumer prices and the Iran war, saying, “We’re looking forward to forcing him to explain all of those things to the people of the state of Michigan and then sending him back to Florida.” Rogers had purchased a Florida property after retiring from the U.S. House in 2015, but moved back to Michigan in 2023, according to Bridge Michigan. Rogers ran for Senate against Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2024 and lost by just .3 percentage points.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Rogers for comment.
But el Sayed did not only take aim at Rogers on Monday morning, but he also sharpened his attack lines against foreign aid for Israel and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
El Sayed has campaigned on getting large corporate donors and money from organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee out of American politics, sparring on the topic with Stevens, who has been supported by AIPAC funding while she has vocally supported Israel. When asked by MS Now to speak to the Jewish community who voted for Stevens, el Sayed said, “I hope that you’ll join this movement,” and he related antisemitism to Islamophobia.
“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids,” el Sayed said. “We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it. It’s the same responsibility we have to take on Islamophobia. I know what it’s like to be discriminated against for how I pray. I’ve experienced it myself, and nobody should have to feel that in a country where we believe in basic freedoms.”
But el Sayed also stood firm on his beliefs about cutting off aid to Israel, criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alleging he is “a big reason why they’ve gotten so aggressive and, frankly, so bloodthirsty under his reign.”
“I believe that we cannot continue to do unconditional foreign military aid. I believe that we have to follow our own laws, the Leahy laws, where we don’t sell weaponry to countries that have engaged in human rights abuses,” el Sayed said, arguing he would take the same approach if it were Egypt in question, the country where his parents immigrated from.
El Sayed also went after Immigration and Customs Enforcement, calling the agency a “bad experiment.”
“It’s been weaponized to do the worst things, and I think we need to abolish it and start from scratch,” el Sayed told the network.
DEMOCRATS FEAR LEFTWARD LURCH COULD MUDDLE MIDTERM MESSAGE
On Wednesday morning, the Senate Leadership Fund announced a $45 million investment “to support Mike Rogers and defeat Abdul El-Sayed,” calling the likely Democratic nominee a “dangerous threat to the safety and freedoms of every American.”
“El-Sayed’s radical agenda to defund and disarm the police, abolish prisons, and unleash terror and violent criminals is a direct attack on Michigan families,” SLF Communications Director Chris Gustafson said in the statement.
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