Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed of Michigan spent $58,065 so far on his campaign’s private security while advocating police be taken off the response to some 911 calls, spending records show.
El Sayed spent frequently on four “security services” providers since last year, after campaigning in prior years with a bodyguard, according to his latest available Federal Election Commission reports. Two entities he paid explicitly offer armed protection, while the other two do not appear to have websites. Journalists on his current campaign trail have also depicted him closely escorted by a pair of guards at multiple events as he meets possible voters.
The candidate’s team did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment. El Sayed led his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, by 2 points in RealClearPolitics polling data on Friday. Their race is a key battleground for Republicans trying to keep their Senate majority, as analysts speculate that the GOP could suffer big midterm losses.
El Sayed has repeatedly come under fire for years’ worth of statements proposing to scale back the use of police force for public safety, including from Rogers. Those include calls to defund the police, a stance el Sayed retracted since starting his current campaign. He now says he wants to fund “community violence intervention” programs, “behavioral health response,” and other resources to aid law enforcement while investing in more efficient officer recruitment.
The former public health official still places himself among radical Left voices by advocating to use social workers to respond to some emergencies, such as mental health crises, instead of police. Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described socialist, has promised a similar approach that he portrays as reducing burdens on police.
“I think the way that we have thought about law enforcement is we answer every social problem with somebody with a gun, and you talk to folks in law enforcement with whom I’ve worked very closely, they’ll tell you they don’t want to go on those runs where they know that somebody is in mental crisis,” el Sayed said in a July CNN interview. “So maybe instead of investing in war materiel for police, we invest in a safe retirement for them. And then, instead of sending a guy with a gun, we send a trained mental health professional.”
Despite el Sayed’s push toward a more moderate criminal justice platform, critics are unwilling to let his past comments slide.
EL SAYED TOUTS ENDORSEMENT FROM LOBBYISTS TIED TO TERRORIST FINANCING: ‘DEEPLY GRATEFUL’
“Do police really need to use guns?” he said in a 2020 interview during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. “Do we need as much of a police force?” The remarks came after he hired a personal bodyguard during his unsuccessful 2018 bid for Michigan governor, FOX 2 Detroit reported.
“Abdul El-Sayed supports defunding the police and emptying prisons,” Rogers said in a September X post. “Michigan families can’t afford his pro-crime policies.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
