Late-September Marist poll gives El-Sayed 7-point lead over Rogers
Obama will appear with El-Sayed and the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Jocelyn Benson, on October 24 in Detroit, the Michigan Democratic Party said Monday. The rally is scheduled on the first day of Michigan’s in-person early voting period, and El-Sayed confirmed the appearance on social media, writing “Get. Ready.”
The former president’s appearance is a notable endorsement for a candidate who defeated Stevens, the establishment-backed congresswoman, by less than a percentage point in the August primary. El-Sayed is a doctor and former Wayne County health director who ran on Medicare for All and a refusal to take corporate PAC money. He was backed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and made opposition to U.S. military aid to Israel — and criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, which he has described as genocide — central to his campaign.
AIPAC and its allies spent a record $30 million trying to stop him. In total, Stevens and her allies outspent El-Sayed’s side nearly nine to one on advertising, according to AdImpact. Stevens was backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, retiring Senator Gary Peters, and the party establishment.
The Michigan Senate seat is being vacated by Peters, a Democrat. The race is one of a handful of contests that will determine control of the Senate next year. Rogers, the Republican nominee, was his party’s 2024 Senate candidate and lost that race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin even as Trump carried the state. A Marist poll of registered voters from late September had El-Sayed ahead 51% to 44%.
Detroit, where Obama remains highly popular, is more than three-quarters Black. In the Democratic primary, Stevens won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, with about 51% of the vote to El-Sayed’s 45%. Some ads supporting Stevens used old footage of Obama praising her, which critics called misleading because he had not endorsed in the race.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian vice president, campaigned with El-Sayed last month, and Obama phoned him after the primary.
El-Sayed, who has sworn off corporate donations and made his opposition to big money in politics a theme of his campaign, traveled to New York for a fundraiser where top “all star” donors were asked to give $57,800, split among his campaign, the Michigan Democratic Party, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the New York Times reported. Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani were expected to attend.
Obama has kept a relatively low profile this campaign cycle, but is preparing a broader push. He has recorded about two dozen advertisements for Democratic candidates for governor and Senate, to be released in the coming weeks, with further stops to be announced. Earlier this year he campaigned in Texas with Senate nominee James Talarico and gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa, and appeared in an ad for Iowa Senate candidate Josh Turek. This week he was set to headline a Washington fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, his first with the group this cycle.