Obama carried Michigan in 2008 and 2012 races, El-Sayed notes
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, said Sunday he has spoken with Barack Obama and hopes the former president campaigns with him as the party tries to unite after a bitter primary that exposed deep rifts between its progressive and moderate wings.
El-Sayed said his Friday conversation with Obama was “really warm and inspiring.” The candidate did not provide details.
“I was grateful for his advice. It was very warm, very inviting, and I know that he knows the critical role that Michigan is going to play,” El-Sayed told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Asked if he would like to see Obama come to Michigan to drum up support for Democrats before the midterm elections in November, El-Sayed said he “really” hoped so, adding that Obama “knows a lot about winning Michigan” after carrying the state in the 2008 and 2012 presidential races.
El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary earlier this month, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, and will face Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in November. The contest is for the Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, which is being vacated.
Democrats view the Michigan race as a must-win in their effort to regain control of the Senate from Republicans, according to prior reporting.
The conversation follows El-Sayed’s primary victory — MSI previously reported that the nominee defeated Stevens to set up a November contest against Rogers — as he works to consolidate Democratic support for the general election.