# Abdul El-Sayed's final push for Michigan Senate > The Democratic candidate faces attacks on his faith and identity as he fights to win a tight race against Trump ally Mike Rogers. - Title: Abdul El-Sayed's final push for Michigan Senate | Shortify - Summary: The Democratic candidate faces attacks on his faith and identity as he fights to win a tight race against Trump ally Mike Rogers. - Keywords: abdul el-sayed, michigan senate race, mike rogers, 2024 election, donald trump, j.d. vance, muslim faith attacks, upper peninsula, detroit, flint, jewish voters, arab voters - Source: The New Yorker — https://newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/the-final-electric-days-of-abdul-el-sayeds-senate-campaign - Author: Eliza Griswold - Published: 2026-10-30T10:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 4 min - Topics: abdul el-sayed, michigan senate race, mike rogers, 2024 election, donald trump, j.d. vance, muslim faith attacks, upper peninsula, detroit, flint, jewish voters, arab voters ## A candidate under siege Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate candidate, now has three bodyguards after facing intense attacks from Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance, who called him a little weasel. > When the President is constantly coming after you, there's real consequences. ## Vance's attack and El-Sayed's response At a campaign stop, Vice-President J.D. Vance called El-Sayed a little weasel and told him to shut his mouth. El-Sayed responded by reclaiming the insult as a wolverine. > No, no, no. What you're talking about is a fucking wolverine. ## Trump's faith-based attack At a Port Huron rally, Trump announced he was there to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a U.S. senator, directly attacking El-Sayed's Muslim faith. > I'm here to keep a jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member from becoming a U.S. senator. ## A tight race in Michigan Recent polls show El-Sayed leading Republican Mike Rogers by only a few points, within their margins of error. Every vote matters in this close contest. > You need every vote here. It's not like California, which is a huge state but you can take things for granted a bit. ## The Upper Peninsula strategy El-Sayed is running up a lead on the Upper Peninsula, home to three hundred thousand people, or three per cent of Michigan's population. He leads Rogers by nearly six points there. > If you want rural, working-class communities to be in play, you've got to come to the Upper Peninsula. ## A hospital rally in Sault Ste. Marie El-Sayed campaigned at a protest in Sault Ste.Marie over a hospital bought by a larger health-care provider.He told locals the fight for this hospital is the fight for rural health care across the country. > The fight for this particular hospital is the fight for rural health care across the country. ## El-Sayed's platform and background A doctor and former director of Wayne County's department of health and human services, El-Sayed is running on money out of politics and Medicare for all, appealing to voters disillusioned by both parties. ## Connection with Indigenous communities Since twenty twenty-five, El-Sayed has made four trips to Sault Ste. Marie and entered Ojibwe sweat lodges twice. Two Ojibwe elders gave him a hand-crafted drum as a symbol of their support. > A hand-drum is the heartbeat of our people. ## El-Sayed's confidence and personality El-Sayed is known as a confident figure willing to confront opponents directly. Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow said if he can convince people he is listening and fighting for them, he can win. > If Abdul can convince people he's listening to them and fighting for them, and not just asking them to fight for him, he can win this thing. ## The Muslim Brotherhood question At a campaign stop in Caro, a man named Tommy asked El-Sayed to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed responded by comparing the question to attacks on J.F.K. over his Catholic faith. > You assume, Tommy, because I'm Muslim that I would have some allegiance to something that's not the U.S. Constitution. ## The viral exchange El-Sayed's exchange with Tommy went viral and has been viewed fifty million times. Tommy later said he was satisfied with El-Sayed's answer, though it did not change his overall opinion. ## Tommy Teepell's real identity Tommy Teepell is a political operative and former aide to Missouri senator Josh Hawley. His father Timmy Teepell's firm received two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from America Next for opposition to El-Sayed. ## Coordinated opposition campaign America Next, a nonprofit waging a war of ideas for conservative America, funded opposition to El-Sayed through influencer marketing. A leaked chat showed college Republicans were offered two hundred dollars to heckle him. > We are going to coordinate questions to ask him and spread out to increase the chances we're called on. ## Republican strategy and concerns Republican strategist Jeff Timmer said fearmongering and hate are what Trumpism is built on. Some liberals see the race-baiting as a sign Republicans have a base-turnout problem. > The sad truth is that peddling fearmongering, hate, racism, and bigotry still works. ## Obama's support and Detroit challenge Barack Obama campaigned with El-Sayed at Detroit's Cass Technical High School, saying the attacks on him will not work. But El-Sayed lost Detroit to moderate Haley Stevens by more than thirty points in the primary. > This stuff didn't work on me, not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul. ## Tensions with Black voters Arab voters did not turn out for Kamala Harris in twenty twenty-four over Gaza, and tensions remain between Detroit's Black and Arab communities. Some Black leaders worry El-Sayed did not have their back. > When we needed you, you didn't have our back. And Black women vote. We're loyal, and we vote. ## Concerns from Jewish voters El-Sayed has said he does not view Israel as an American ally and rejects its existence as a Jewish state. Some Jewish voters worry about his statements and whether he takes their safety seriously. > My issue with him isn't about Israel policy. It's the way he speaks about Jews. ## El-Sayed's reassurance to Jewish voters El-Sayed said his commitment to Jewish safety is the same as his commitment to his own daughters' safety. He said people can address antisemitism while bringing communities together. > My commitment to Jewish safety is the same commitment that I have to the safety of my own daughters. ## Personal toll and recurring fears El-Sayed wears a bracelet reading best dad made by his daughters. He became emotional discussing how his campaign has put his family in danger and his lifelong fear of dying young. > I'll be honest, I've had a recurring dream that I'm going to get, I'm going to die young, my whole life. ## Key takeaway Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate candidate, is fighting a tight race against Republican Mike Rogers while facing attacks on his Muslim faith and identity.