Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed Faces Attacks Over 6 DSA Events and Cleric Ties
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 6
Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed Faces Attacks Over 6 DSA Events and Cleric Ties
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 6
Summary
Abdul El-Sayed’s bid to present himself as a moderate in Michigan’s 2026 Senate race is colliding with renewed scrutiny of his past alliances, endorsements and campaign appearances with socialists and controversial Muslim clerics.
Six Democratic Socialists of America events between 2017 and 2020, plus backing from Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, undercut El-Sayed’s repeated insistence that he is “not a socialist.”
April and June appearances with figures including Amir Makled and Imam Hassan Qazwini have given Republicans fresh material, with critics highlighting statements praising Hezbollah figures, attacking Israel or invoking antisemitic tropes.
Republicans are making those associations a central line of attack as Mike Rogers and El-Sayed head toward November, though El-Sayed’s campaign says Rogers is tied to aides linked to 2020 election denialism, anti-gay marriage advocacy and other offensive remarks.
The fight matters in a competitive state where El-Sayed’s strong Arab American support helped him win the August Democratic primary, but defections from some Jewish Democrats could reshape the general-election map.