Michigan Senate race sharpens as Abdul El-Sayed confronts smear tactics over family and faith
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Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is being dragged through a wave of politically motivated scrutiny over his family’s history and his own statements, even as polling shows him narrowly ahead of Republican Mike Rogers.
The Michigan U.S. Senate contest between Republican former congressman Mike Rogers and Democratic doctor Abdul El-Sayed has become a national flashpoint for ugly, fear-driven politics. Rogers, a former FBI agent, is backed by President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly cast El-Sayed in the harshest possible terms, calling him a “jihadist” and suggesting he would need a metal detector to enter the Senate. El-Sayed responded at a Grand Rapids rally, saying he does not care about the president’s remarks and will be called “senator” after the election.
A recent CBS Detroit poll places El-Sayed ahead of Rogers by seven points. The campaign says attacks on El-Sayed’s religion and family are “bad-faith” efforts meant to distract voters from the issues that actually matter. A spokesperson said, "> He is a dad and a doctor who has spent his career working to keep Michiganders healthy and safe."
El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Elkomy, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency, which was shut down in 2004 after the Treasury and Justice Departments linked it to sanctions violations and alleged support for terrorist groups. Elkomy was not charged with wrongdoing. El-Sayed’s half-sister has posted on social media that their mother was involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s, a claim El-Sayed has denied, saying he has no ties to the organization.
El-Sayed’s father, Mohamed, fled Egypt in the late 1970s and later earned a PhD in mechanical engineering in Detroit. El-Sayed’s father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, is a kidney doctor who has held leadership roles in CAIR Michigan and the Islamic Society of North America, both of which have faced scrutiny but have not been charged with crimes.
During his university years, El-Sayed served on the board of the Muslim Students’ Association, a group whose early founders had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to experts. After the Arab Spring, El-Sayed signed a petition supporting Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, and has written opinion pieces critical of U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinian territories.
El-Sayed’s campaign has secured endorsements from labor unions, environmental groups, and civil-rights organizations, including the United Auto Workers, the Teamsters, the Sierra Club, and CAIR Action. The campaign has not commented on detailed questions about the financial contributions of groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The race continues to be framed by reactionary attempts to weaponize religion, foreign policy, and the candidate’s personal background as Michigan voters approach Election Day.