Abdul El-Sayed Enters Michigan Senate Race, Joins Growing Democratic Field
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — In a significant development for Michigan’s political landscape, Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, has declared his candidacy for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, which is expected to be a focal point in the 2026 midterm elections.
El-Sayed, aged 40, is the second Democrat this week to announce a bid to succeed Senator Gary Peters, who has chosen not to seek reelection. “It’s way too hard to survive here in the richest, most powerful country in the world and it should not be this hard to get by,” El-Sayed stated in an interview with The Associated Press.
A progressive Democrat, El-Sayed previously ran for governor in 2018, securing an endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders. Despite his efforts, he finished second in the Democratic primary, trailing behind Gretchen Whitmer by over 20 points, while outperforming now U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar by more than 12 points. Whitmer, currently serving her second term, is barred from running again due to term limits.
Residing in Ann Arbor, El-Sayed has held the position of director for the Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services in Wayne County, which encompasses Detroit. His tenure as Detroit’s public health director began after the city declared bankruptcy in 2013.
El-Sayed’s Senate ambitions are partly fueled by the federal government’s transformation under President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, which included adjustments and reductions in the nation’s top health agencies. However, he emphasized the necessity for Democrats to present their own solutions rather than simply opposing Republican policies. “You have to come with your own independent analysis of what you think the problem is and how you want to solve it, if you want to earn the trust of the public,” he remarked.
Joining El-Sayed in the Democratic contest is state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, with other potential candidates including U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
On the Republican front, former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers has already entered the race, having lost a Senate race last year by a narrow margin of 19,000 votes to Democrat Elissa Slotkin.
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