Schumer, Gillibrand rally behind 'abolish ICE' El-Sayed for Senate after Michigan primary win

Senate Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are throwing their support behind Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, praising his campaign and pledging to work to elect him in November following his primary victory.

In a statement released after El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination, Schumer and Gillibrand celebrated his campaign and framed the Michigan contest as central to Democrats’ effort to retake the Senate. "Abdul El-Sayed has run an energetic campaign that inspired thousands of Michiganders across the state, with a clear focus on lowering costs and standing up for working families,” the statement said.

The Democratic leaders then made clear that the party intends to unite behind El-Sayed despite controversies surrounding the progressive candidate. “Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate. We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November.”

They also targeted Republican nominee Mike Rogers, tying the former congressman directly to President Donald Trump. “Mike Rogers is a rubber stamp for Donald Trump, backing the same reckless agenda that has driven up costs for working families, imposed chaotic tariffs that have hurt Michigan's auto industry, and put special interests ahead of the people of Michigan. Michigan voters already rejected Rogers after he walked through Washington's revolving door to enrich himself. They'll reject him again in November and send Abdul El-Sayed to the United States Senate.”

The endorsement immediately drew criticism from the Republican Jewish Coalition, which accused Democratic leaders of rallying behind El-Sayed despite his record of incendiary rhetoric about Israel. The RJC called Democratic leaders “cowards” after Schumer and Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, pledged to help El-Sayed defeat Rogers.

El-Sayed has previously called Israel “bloodthirsty,” accused the Jewish state of committing “genocide,” and described it as an “illegal apartheid regime.”

Sam Markstein, national political director and spokesman for the RJC, told JNS that “Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Democratic Party are complete and total cowards.”

“Abdul El-Sayed is the most antisemitic candidate for the US Senate in America, and yet, their party leadership is rallying around him,” Markstein said. “November is a clear choice between Democrat crazy and Republican common sense.”

Schumer’s support also comes more than a year after the Jewish senator published Antisemitism in America: A Warning, a book focused on the resurgence of anti-Jewish hatred in the United States.

“In Michigan specifically, this is a choice between Mike Rogers, who will stand with Michigan’s Jewish community as he has always done, and Abdul El-Sayed, who will defend the people who come after us,” Markstein told JNS, citing Rogers’ pro-Israel record. “Where Democrats failed, Republicans will clean up their mess,” he added.

The support from Schumer and Gillibrand comes as El-Sayed faces renewed scrutiny over his relationship with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the financial support his campaign received from people affiliated with the organization.

El-Sayed received more than $115,000 from at least 41 people who work for CAIR, previously worked for the organization, or held leadership positions within it. Donors included CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, National Board Chair Manal Fakhoury, National Board Treasurer Eyas Abdeen, National Vice Chair Emad Sabbah, and CAIR-Michigan board member Jukaku Tayeb, El-Sayed’s father-in-law.
 

El-Sayed’s platform includes abolishing ICE, reforming the Supreme Court, creating a “billionaire tax,” Medicare for all, and protecting abortions, among other agenda items.