- El-Sayed wins the Democratic US Senate primary in Michigan.
- National Republicans quickly greeted El-Sayed's victory by repeatedly employing his full name — Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed — in a press release.
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville posted that El-Sayed is a “RADICAL ISLAMIST”, and the Senate Leadership Fund warned that El-Sayed will “.”
- Sen. Ted Cruz called El-Sayed and Zohran Mamdani “Islamist[s]” and claimed a “green-red convergence” where communists and Islamists want Sharia law and hate Jews, Christians, capitalism, and America.
- Cruz held a hearing on the Muslim Brotherhood threat, featuring a poster of El-Sayed titled “From the Middle East to the Midwest” and said Democrats are “waging war in America.”
- El-Sayed's GOP opponent Mike Rogers and Sen. Tom Cotton falsely attributed a comment from Hasan Piker to El-Sayed, with Rogers saying, “Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11.”
- El-Sayed responded by urging correct pronunciation of his full name and said the GOP's tactics are meant “to insinuate that somehow I’m less American,” adding that his name is not the cause of high prices or war but “Their BS policies” are.
- One of the other candidates in the Michigan GOP primary, Al Lemmo, acknowledged his campaign ran an explicitly anti-Muslim campaign against Hassan, saying his ads “didn’t so much appeal to bigotry against Muslims as kind of counted on it.”
National Republicans swiftly reacted to Abdul El-Sayed's primary win by launching an openly Islamophobic campaign.1
Sen. Tommy Tuberville labeled El-Sayed a 'RADICAL ISLAMIST,' while Sen. Ted Cruz echoed similar sentiments, suggesting a conspiracy involving Islamists and communists.34
Cruz's rhetoric included a poster of El-Sayed, claiming Democrats are 'waging war in America.'
El-Sayed's GOP opponent, Mike Rogers, falsely attributed a controversial statement to him, further fueling the Islamophobic narrative.6
In response, El-Sayed urged correct pronunciation of his name, asserting that the GOP's tactics aim to portray him as un-American. He stated, 'My name is not raising your gas prices... Their BS policies are.'
This campaign reflects a troubling trend within the GOP, as acknowledged by other candidates who have admitted to running anti-Muslim campaigns.
Al Lemmo, a former candidate, noted that while he personally dislikes such strategies, they often rely on bigotry to gain traction.8
The Senate Leadership Fund warned that El-Sayed's candidacy poses a significant threat, indicating a broader strategy to undermine Muslim candidates in the GOP landscape.
“Sen. Ted Cruz held a hearing on the Muslim Brotherhood threat, featuring a poster of El-Sayed titled 'From the Middle East to the Midwest'. El-Sayed's opponent Mike Rogers and Sen. Tom Cotton falsely attributed a comment from streamer Hasan Piker to him, claiming El-Sayed believes 'America deserved 9/11'.”
