Michigan Senate Race Puts Democratic Nominee's Alliances in the Spotlight

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, is navigating a general election campaign that has put a spotlight on the wide range of political and religious figures he has aligned himself with over the years. As he courts a broader electorate following his August primary win, those associations are drawing fresh scrutiny from Republicans, some Jewish voters, and political observers across the spectrum.

El-Sayed launched his Senate bid in April 2025 and has since sought to clarify his political identity. In a July interview with CNN, he stated plainly, "I am not somebody who is a socialist. I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated." He made similar comments to the Wall Street Journal, telling the paper, "I'm not technically or practically DSA," referring to the Democratic Socialists of America.

That messaging represents a notable shift. Between 2017 and 2020, El-Sayed spoke at six events organized by Democratic Socialists of America chapters, including a 2019 fundraiser where he served as the keynote speaker. DSA officials told Politico in July that they were mobilizing resources to help him win the Democratic primary. Socialist organizers in Detroit have called him "a longtime friend of Detroit DSA."

His 2026 Senate campaign drew early backing from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who endorsed him the same day he announced his candidacy. Sanders also supported El-Sayed's 2018 gubernatorial run. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have also voiced their support for his Senate bid.

El-Sayed's campaign has pushed back against what it characterizes as unfair framing of these connections. Spokesman Cole Wozniak told Fox News Digital that "Abdul has made clear that no one speaks for his campaign besides himself and his campaign spokespeople." The campaign has also redirected attention toward the GOP nominee, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, pointing to staff members on Rogers' team who allegedly defended Hitler in group chats, made gas chamber jokes, and spread racial slurs, as well as a senior campaign leader who admitted to dismissing childhood sexual abuse allegations. The Rogers campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

El-Sayed's ties within Michigan's Arab American and Muslim communities have been a central feature of his political career and have drawn particular attention in the Senate race. In April, Amir Makled, a candidate for the University of Michigan's board of regents who referred to deceased members of Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, as "martyrs," introduced El-Sayed at a campaign rally.

In June, El-Sayed headlined the opening of Imam Hassan Qazwini's Islamic Institute of America, offering "hearty congratulations" and calling the mosque "incredible." Qazwini has previously claimed Israel was behind ISIS, called a slain Hezbollah leader a hero of the "resistance," and described Sanders as honorable "even though he is a Jew." Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign denounced Qazwini as antisemitic. In a July sermon, Qazwini told his congregation that voting for El-Sayed was both a "moral responsibility" and a "religious duty."

At the same event, El-Sayed shared the stage with Sheikh Fadhel al-Sahlani, a cleric who praised Hamas's October 7 terrorist attack and downplayed the number of people killed in the Holocaust. El-Sayed is also scheduled to appear at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention on September 5, where Qazwini, Imam Baqir Berry, who prayed for a "mighty victory" for Islamic holy soldiers in Gaza, and Siraj Wahhaj, who was named as a possible co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing case but was never charged, are also slated to be in attendance.

El-Sayed's relationships extend into the Nation of Islam, a religious organization founded by Black nationalists in the 1930s that is not considered an orthodox Muslim sect by most Islamic leaders. The group teaches that Black people are the original human beings and that white people were created by an evil Black scientist named Yakub. Its current leader, Louis Farrakhan, has a long history of antisemitic remarks, including calling Jews "termites" and accusing them of "suck[ing] the blood" of Americans.

Marcus Muhammad, a small-town mayor and Nation of Islam minister, posted a photograph of himself arm-in-arm with El-Sayed backstage at his election night watch party. The leader of the Detroit chapter of the Nation of Islam shared a photo of the two shaking hands at a 2025 NAACP event. El-Sayed also announced the endorsement of a prominent Detroit-area pastor who had previously praised Farrakhan in a 2013 address, saying, "We need someone to give us direction. I believe we have a leader here that can organize us."

On the campaign trail, El-Sayed appeared with Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer who once said America "deserved" the September 11 attacks. Piker appeared alongside El-Sayed at events, drawing questions from Jewish voters at the Democratic state convention.

Republicans have made El-Sayed's proximity to these figures a focal point of their campaign in Michigan. The strategy has produced some visible results: a number of high-profile Jewish Democrats have broken ranks, raising concerns about the nominee among a constituency that will be critical in a state expected to be decided by razor-thin margins.

El-Sayed's faith and personal outlook have also become a topic of public discussion. He has expressed a desire to live in accordance with Sharia law and has described his faith as central to his worldview, while simultaneously supporting easy access to abortion and child sex-change procedures.

With Election Day approaching, the Democratic nominee faces the task of persuading Michigan voters that his public positions and his political and religious alliances can be reconciled. His campaign is betting that his message on economic regulation and his deep ties to the state's diverse communities will carry the day. Republicans are betting that those same alliances will cost him.