Interested Parties Memo
There are real vulnerabilities for Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate primary, and once Democratic voters learn more about his record, they move away from supporting him in the primary election. He is vulnerable for having backed the uncommitted movement that helped Donald Trump win Michigan, and Democrats also do not like that he has a history of disparaging women (in particular, women they know and like).
Top Negatives:
El-Sayed was a prominent backer of the Uncommitted Movement, a movement that told people not to vote Democrat for President in 2024 and helped Trump win Michigan and the election. He kept pushing the effort even after Gretchen Whitmer warned that his effort “supports a second Trump term.”
El-Sayed has a history of insulting women. He called Michelle Obama’s ideas “uninspired” and “ineffectual,” claimed Gretchen Whitmer was “bought and sold,” and dismissed Debbie Stabenow as irrelevant. He was described in a discrimination lawsuit telling a female colleague he didn’t want to work with anyone older than 40, and a former staffer alleged he was offered a $7,000 payout to keep quiet after witnessing El-Sayed disparaging women.
More info can be found here.