Abdul el Sayed’s campaign reset in response to a politically bruising summer appears to be paying dividends as his quest to keep Michigan’s open Senate seat blue comes down the home stretch.
The Israel critic and progressive provocateur has made overtures to crucial voting blocs where he lacked support, such as Jewish and black voters. He’s also picked up endorsements from party holdouts and maintained a nominal lead in the polls over Republican rival Mike Rogers, even after months of negative headlines from his association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker.
El Sayed’s current election prospects are undoubtedly up from where they were just a month ago, when he couldn’t shake his ties with Piker, a far-left Twitch streamer, and was lobbying skeptical Senate Democrats in Washington to get behind him.
“When you’re in a circumstance where there’s a large constituency of people who feel very uncomfortable with your ascension into higher office where they don’t feel safe, you’ve got to put those concerns at the core of your campaign,” Mike Nellis, an ex-senior adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris, said of Jewish Democrats’ unease with el Sayed. “I think, for the most part, he’s done a pretty good job of that.”
Those efforts include meeting with Jewish leaders, plans to hire a Jewish community liaison, and apologizing for offensive remarks about a terrorist attack on a Michigan synagogue. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat who backed el Sayed’s primary challenger, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), and has been critical of el Sayed’s anti-Israel rhetoric, endorsed him last month.
But in a reminder of the lingering hurdles el Sayed faces in unifying his own party, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) continues to withhold her endorsement over his association with Piker, who recently said America “pound for pound” commits more terrorism than al Qaeda. El Sayed and Piker campaigned together during the primary. While el Sayed has distanced himself from Piker, the candidate has refused to denounce the streamer.
For black voters, who largely sided Stevens in the primary, those outreach efforts include stumping with Harris. The pair sat for a roundtable last month that was focused on black maternal health. The Rogers campaign described el Sayed as “so desperate that he’s parachuting Kamala Harris into Michigan to save his flailing campaign.”
Across eight polls in the past couple weeks, including one from Fox News, el Sayed is either leading or tied with Rogers, a former congressman and strong supporter of President Donald Trump. The Rogers campaign has downplayed the results as skewed. Still, both sides consider the battleground contest to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) a virtual toss-up.
Senatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, left, and former Vice-President Kamala Harris participate in a roundtable discussion about reproductive health at Birth Detroit, in Detroit, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, Pool)
" data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg?w=696" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg?w=696" alt="El Sayed and Harris." class="wp-image-4752486" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26265725402596.jpg?resize=696,464 696w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
Senatorial candidate Abdul el Sayed, left, and former Vice President Kamala Harris participate in a roundtable discussion about reproductive health at Birth Detroit, in Detroit, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP, Pool)
Meanwhile, Rogers is among the Republican candidates who are increasingly critical of the Iran war and eager for its end to bring down gasoline, diesel, and food prices. The GOP nominee broke publicly with the president in a recent campaign ad, in which he said the “war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly” to bring down the price of gas and groceries.
EL SAYED SAYS HE AND HARRIS HAVE ‘COME TOGETHER’ AFTER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S STRUGGLE WITH PRO-PALESTINIAN WING
Nellis cautioned Democrats against putting stock in the “drunk polls” across the Senate map, such as those showing independent former state Rep. Todd Achilles leading Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) in what nonpartisan forecasters consider a “solid” Republican seat. The Democratic strategist does not “for one second” believe it’s competitive. But he does see el Sayed’s recent steady polling in the high 40s or around 50% as a reassuring sign the Democratic nominee may have righted the ship at a crucial time before the Nov. 3 elections.
“The blue wave is being picked up by the polls,” Nellis said. “The question is whether or not the undercurrent for the Republicans catches up to them, and I don’t know if it does or not.”
Continue reading...
[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
