September 22nd , 2026 Len’s Political Note #840 Abdul El-Sayed Michigan US Senate
2026 General Election
In discussing the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, my wife, Marian Solomon Lubinsky, often says that part of the problem is not only the frequently stated “two peoples for one land,” but also that these are “two traumatized peoples.”
That description resembles Abdul El-Sayed’s analysis of the attack of naturalized citizen Ayman Mohamed Ghazali on a Michigan synagogue and its preschool. Abdul El-Sayed’s comment was that “hurt people hurt people.”
Fox News reported, on August 27, that Michigan’s Attorney General, Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, was incensed at Abdul El-Sayed’s remark. She took that comment, not as analysis, but as excusing the attempted bomber. She contrasted the US Senate candidate’s response to her own response as Attorney General to the 2019 massacre of Muslims in a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. She visited a Dearborn mosque wearing a hijab to demonstrate her disdain for Islamophobia and her support for Michigan’s Muslims.
Dana Nessel urged Abdul El-Sayed to apologize for his remarks and to take the time to learn more about the Jewish people and the Jewish religion – particularly noting another past remark of his about “breaking bread with Jews at Passover” – a holiday during which Jews do not eat bread for eight days, but do invite strangers to their meal that celebrates Jews escape from slavery in Egypt.
Responding to an inquiry from Fox News, Abdul El-Sayed said he was “horrified and heartbroken” to learn of the synagogue attack,” that his Jewish sisters and brothers “have a right to send [their] kids to the synagogue in the morning and know they’ll come home safely at night… There is no room for antisemitism in America. So today and every day, I am standing in solidarity with all of us who value our right to pray how we choose to pray against antisemitism and hate in all its forms.”
Whether or not she accepted Abdul El-Sayed’s statement as an apology, Dana Nessel had already explained to Fox News that she endorsed and would vote for Abdul El-Sayed for the US Senate: “ we have a lot in common in terms of our general beliefs and principles and policies…I have much more in common with Abdul El-Sayed than I do with [the Republican candidate for the US Senate] Mike Rogers in terms of my personal beliefs, my political beliefs, my philosophical beliefs about what should happen in the United States, and in the United States Senate.” For emphasis, she said she would “amputate [her] right arm” before voting for Rogers because “keeping a Republican majority in the Senate is incredibly dangerous.”
Dana Nessel still has her right arm and continues to emphasize how important it is for Michigan and for the Jewish community of Michigan to support Abdul El-Sayed for the US Senate and to defeat former Republican Congressman, former lobbyist, former talk show host, and former Florida resident Mike Rogers.
Abdul El-Sayed was born in Rochester Hills, a suburb of Detroit. He was raised by his father, who immigrated from Egypt and studied to be an engineer at Wayne State University in Detroit, and his step-mother Jaqueline Johnson, who is from central Michigan and is also an engineer. His mom is a nurse practitioner in Missouri.
Abdul El-Sayed grew up in Bloomfield Hills, a town which is estimated to have about a 25% Jewish population. He had a high school career that boys and their parents dream of. Not a likely candidate for an athletic scholarship, nevertheless, his senior year he was captain of the football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams. A strong student as well, he went from high school to the University of Michigan.
At Michigan, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was chosen to give the student commencement speech. His speech was the warm up for the Commencement Speaker – former President Bill Clinton. Clinton insisted that, based on his speech, Abdul El-Sayed demonstrated that there is no such thing as a clash of civilizations.
Abdul El-Sayed stayed at Michigan with a full scholarship for an MD/PhD program. During his second year, he applied for and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. At Oxford, he completed a PhD in public health and captained their lacrosse team. He finished his medical training at Columbia Medical School in New York, having decided his career would be in epidemiology and public health rather than the practice of medicine. Already a prolific writer, he remained at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health to teach epidemiology. His wife, Sarah Jukaku, an Indian-American, who he had married when they were students at the University of Michigan, completed her medical degree at Columbia.
Thirty years old in 2015, Abdul El-Sayed was hired by Mayor Mike Duggan to become the Executive Director of the Detroit Health Department. He spent two years rebuilding a health department that had all but disappeared as a result of Detroit’s 2012 bankruptcy. The Health Department and its Director earned widespread recognition.
In 2017, Abdul El-Sayed resigned to run for Governor, a race he lost in 2018. His wife continued to practice medicine. His father, currently the head of the Islamic Society of North America, was a leader in the Muslim community. After the election, Abdul El-Sayed wrote books and produced a regular podcast. In 2022, the Wayne County Executive brought him back to Detroit to serve as the County Director of Health, Human, and Veterans’ Services and to provide leadership for the post-pandemic period.
In 2025, Abdul El-Sayed resigned his position to run for the US Senate. He won the 2026 primary in a titanic struggle with Congresswoman Haley Stevens, whose post-primary unstinting support of his candidacy is a model of what a losing candidate should do in order to ensure party unity in the general election.
In August, Abdul El-Sayed led the Republican, Mike Rogers narrowly in all polls but one in which he trailed narrowly. Four polls have been completed so far in September. The earliest had Republican Mike Rogers leading 46-44. The next three had Abdul El-Sayed leading: 47-44, 46-45, and 48-45. It is possible that these polls indicate that Rogers has a ceiling of 46 points or thereabouts.
The financial race is also competitive, though the third quarter ends on September 30 and we might not have those financials until the middle of October. According to previous reports, Michael Rogers raised $10.9 million and had 4.8 million available on July 15. Abdul El-Sayed raised $14.5 million, spent much of it on the vigorous primary, and had $2.6 million left available on July 15. He needs more if he is going to compete with the Republican who, in addition to his own resources, will get considerable in the way of outside resources. DONATE to Abdul El-Sayed. Michigan is one of four competitive US Senate seats currently held by the Democrats. Democrats need to win all four if they are to gain control of the US Senate in the November election.
And the other three must-hold Democratically held seats.
Georgia: Jon Ossoff is seeking his second term in the Senate. His campaign has been so strong a boomlet has begun urging him to run for President in 2028. As the Senate race continues, his opponent, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, has appeared to be more extreme, more racist, and less a serious candidate. On June 30, Jon Ossoff had $42.6 million to Collins’s $2.1 million. Collins could conceivably access the millions with which outside funders tantalize Republican candidates. As for polls, Jon Ossoff led in an August poll 50-43 and in a September poll 49-43. Do not take this race for granted. DONATE to Jon Ossoff’s campaign. See Len’s Political Note #713
Minnesota: Lt. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the Ojibwe tribe, is seeking to replace the retiring Tina Smith. Peggy Flanagan appears to have retained identification as a progressive without generating controversy. Her Republican opponent is former sportscaster Michelle Tafoya who works at being seen as a Republican moderate. Neither candidate has raised a lot of money. Peggy Flanagan had $1.1 million available on July 22 while Tafoya had $1.4 million on that date. These figures do not take into account outside funding. Four polls of Likely Voters in September have demonstrated a tightened race. Peggy Flanagan has led in three of those races: 44-42, 48-44, and 43-42. The most recent September poll had them tied at 42. DONATE to Peggy Flanagan’s campaign. This is a crucial race in the contest to control the US Senate.
New Hampshire: Congressman Chris Pappas, who is married to a man, is seeking to replace the retiring Jeanne Shaheen. Chris Pappas is generally thought of as a moderate Member of Congress. His opponent, John Sununu, is the son of Governor John and brother of the popular former Governor Chris Sununu. John Sununu the candidate is a former one term Senator who lost his seat to Jeanne Shaheen. Neither candidate has raised huge amounts of money for the campaign. On June 30, Chris Pappas had $5.2 million to Sununu’s $2.7 Million. These figures do not include outside money. Two polls were reported in August, two in September so far. In mid-August, Chris Pappas led 48-41. In late August, he trailed Sununu 45-43. In September, in Republican funded or Republican oriented polls, Sununu led 37-36 and tied at 46. Sununu’s lead appears to have energized Chris Pappas and his supporters who now know for sure that they cannot take this race for granted. You should not either. DONATE to Chris Pappas’ campaign. See Len’s Political Note #743.
It is tantalizing to contemplate the number of Senate seats Democrats might flip. I have asked you and will ask again that you help flip those seats. But success in flipping seats could be fruitless if Democrats do not hold on to the seats they have.
