Race against Mike Rogers will help determine Senate control
Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, apologized Saturday to the state’s Jewish Democratic Caucus for comments he made after a March attack on a synagogue, which he had tied to Israel’s actions in the Middle East. The apology came after El-Sayed addressed the caucus at a Democratic party convention in Lansing.
After speaking to the group, El-Sayed told reporters that his original remarks had been “misconstrued.” “My comments may have been misconstrued to justify something I did not mean to justify,” El-Sayed said. “To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention.”
El-Sayed’s original comments came after a March attack on a synagogue in Michigan, which he tied at the time to Israel’s actions in the Middle East. The Saturday apology represents his latest attempt to push past a series of controversies involving allegations of antisemitism that have followed him since the primary.
Among those controversies is El-Sayed’s association with controversial commentator Hasan Piker. The apology is part of El-Sayed’s effort to unify Michigan Democrats after the bitter primary in which he defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. El-Sayed is working to bring the party’s factions together ahead of November.
In November, El-Sayed will face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in a race that will help determine control of the U.S. Senate.