The 2026 Michigan Senate race: Abdul El-Sayed vs. Mike Rogers

El-Sayed's association with Hasan Piker became a central issue after Democratic lawmakers criticized the streamer for his remarks about American Jews who support Israel. El-Sayed said he had "no plans" to campaign with Piker,^[3] though he later said Piker had said some things he agreed with and others he disagreed with.^[13] He apologized to Michigan's Jewish Democratic Caucus for comments he made after a March attack on a synagogue, which he had tied to Israel's actions in the Middle East,^[14] as he tried to mend ties with Jewish Democrats, some of whom were not impressed.^[15]

Republicans pressed the attack. A CNN fact check found that Sen. Tim Scott, who leads Senate Republicans' campaign arm, and a Republican ad took a quote from El-Sayed out of context,^[16] and Democrats accused Republicans of anti-Muslim attacks in ads using his full name.^[5] At a rally in Sterling Heights, Vance called El-Sayed "very, very evil" and told him to keep his wife's name out of his mouth. El-Sayed accused Vance of a "dog whistle."^[4] A Rogers ad featured David Beamer, the father of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, condemning the suggestion that America deserved 9/11.^[17]

Rogers and El-Sayed met in their first debate in October.^[18] Rogers attacked El-Sayed over terrorism and over not marking the third anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.^[19] President Donald Trump criticized Fox News for interviewing El-Sayed,^[20] while separate reporting raised allegations about Muslim Brotherhood ties. El-Sayed told NBC News that neither he nor his family had ties to the group.^[21] Republicans have spent tens of millions of dollars to portray El-Sayed as a dangerous radical, while he has traveled the state meeting voters.^[22]

Democrats rallied around El-Sayed. Senate Democrats met with him in Washington,^[2] Attorney General Dana Nessel endorsed him weeks after criticizing his comments on the synagogue attack,^[23] and Kamala Harris campaigned with him in Michigan.^[24]

Questions about El-Sayed's faith and family continued through October. He disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood after a voter questioned him about it and criticized suggestions that he had divided loyalties.^[25] A CBS News correspondent apologized for a post praising the voter,^[26] and reports said the network's editor in chief, Bari Weiss, had pressed staff to investigate his alleged ties to the group.^[27] El-Sayed confirmed that his sister-in-law had sued after being placed on a terrorist watch list during the Obama administration,^[28] said Israel was not a US ally,^[29] and courted Black voters as tensions between Black and Arab American voters became a wild card in the race.^[30][31] Conservative outlets reported in late October that he had once signed a 2012 letter urging Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to purge the media and police, and that several fellow signers had given his campaigns more than $25,000,^[32] while CNN examined what Republicans meant when they asked him to disavow the group.^[33]

Trump and Vance sharpened their attacks in the final stretch. At a Detroit-area rally in late October, Trump pressed his effort to link El-Sayed to Muslim extremists, comparing him to the 9/11 attackers,^[6] and Vance accused him of stoking "anti-white racial hatred."^[34] Conservative outlets published further reports about El-Sayed's family, including that the FBI had raided his mother's home in the early 2000s and that his father sat on the board of a charity accused of funneling money to Saddam Hussein.^[35][36] Former President Barack Obama rallied for him in Detroit,^[37] while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called some of his past comments on Israel "concerning" and "wrong."^[38]

Stevens's defection shook the race on the eve of the election. She pulled her support after El-Sayed declined to condemn an advertisement blaming US support for Israel for rising grocery prices, according to the Washington Examiner.^[39][7] El-Sayed's campaign said it raised a record $2.4 million in one day afterward,^[40] and Democrats scrambled to move past the split.^[8] Stevens said critics who blamed her fiance for the decision were sexist.^[41][42]

In his victory speech early on November 4, El-Sayed taunted Trump and Vance, who had spent months attacking him.^[43] Reuters described the result as a win in the face of a campaign in which the president repeatedly branded him a jihadist.^[44]