Republicans trying to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s tight Senate race are growing frustrated with Fox News, arguing the network is helping the Democrat soften his liberal image and reach voters the GOP needs in November.
The complaints go beyond his interviews. El-Sayed has turned praise from host Jesse Watters into campaign material and flooded the network with ads as he battles Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers.
His campaign’s spots ran 129 times on Fox News from Oct. 1 through Oct. 6, roughly double the number aired on ESPN, according to ad-tracking data cited by Axios.
“It’s not just that he is doing interviews with Fox. It’s that he is on Fox every commercial break,” Michigan Republican strategist Dennis Lennox told Axios.
President Donald Trump brought the simmering dispute into public view Tuesday, attacking anchor Martha MacCallum’s Monday interview with El-Sayed as “softball.”
“Fox is promoting the Dumocrats, not the Republicans and MAGA. They have totally lost their way!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
White House officials also contacted the network Tuesday to complain about the interview, Axios reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Republicans fear the exposure is complicating their effort to portray El-Sayed as too liberal for Michigan. Polls show a close contest between Rogers and El-Sayed, a critic of Israel’s government who would become the first Muslim elected to the Senate.
The friction dates back to early August, when senior GOP operatives repeatedly raised concerns with Fox News producers and executives about Watters’ favorable comments following El-Sayed’s primary victory over an establishment-backed rival.
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“You gotta respect Abdul because he beat the [Democratic] machine,” Watters said.
Republicans warned that El-Sayed could use the praise to sell himself as a moderate. Later that month, his campaign put the remark in a television ad and described Watters as an “unlikely validator.”
An Aug. 24 appearance briefly eased those concerns. Watters challenged El-Sayed over his criticism of ICE, his backing of Medicare for All and his views on Sharia law.
Then came Watters’ assessment the following day.
“I actually like Abdul. I probably shouldn’t like him, but I do.”
Some Republicans acknowledge that El-Sayed has handled tough questions effectively, including on subjects central to the GOP’s case against him. The candidate has made appearances on Fox News part of his push to reach beyond Democratic voters.
“I am going to have conversations with all kinds of folks,” El-Sayed said during Monday’s interview with MacCallum.
The network has a ratings incentive, too. Fox News said Watters’ August interview with El-Sayed attracted nearly 3.4 million viewers, making it the month’s highest-rated prime-time cable news telecast.
“They are doing him a favor. It’s only helping him reach center-right voters. But they are in business to make money, and he attracts eyeballs,” Michigan Republican strategist Jason Roe told Axios.
Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace defended MacCallum’s interview Tuesday, telling Axios the network is willing to broadcast material its core viewers may not welcome.
“Someone didn’t necessarily like that,” Wallace said, apparently referring to Trump. “But that’s what we do.”
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
