Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing criticism over a voter outreach video aimed at Black Michigan voters, just days before former President Barack Obama is set to campaign for him in Detroit on Saturday.
The video, a sit-down conversation with The Root’s Ashley Allison, was filmed at Busboys and Poets, a restaurant in Washington, D.C. — not in Michigan, where El-Sayed is running against Republican Mike Rogers for the seat ahead of the November 3 election. Critics online seized on the choice of location, arguing it undercut the stated purpose of connecting with Detroit-area Black voters.
El-Sayed previously ran against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI-11) in the Democratic primary; Stevens drew strong support from Black voters during that race. Since then, some Black voters who backed Stevens have said they are weighing other options, including Rogers, rather than rallying behind El-Sayed.
In a separate clip from the interview circulating on social media, El-Sayed told Allison he is “not like your ‘gas station Abdul’ who hates blacks, catcalls women,” an attempt to distinguish himself from stereotypes some Black voters associate with Middle Eastern shop owners. The campaign also released footage of El-Sayed visiting a Washington gas station to buy spicy Doritos and Gatorade as part of the same outreach effort.
The video and related clips have been widely mocked on social media, with critics calling the effort pandering and tone-deaf.
Obama’s visit and shifting allegiances
Obama is scheduled to appear with El-Sayed in Detroit on Saturday, a visit widely seen as an effort to shore up Black turnout for the campaign in its final weeks.
Not every former Obama supporter in Michigan is staying in the Democratic column, however. Naura Evans, a Michigan teacher who says she voted for Obama in the past, has announced her support for Rogers. “We are no longer just voting according to parties, but we are voting according to policy and plans,” Evans said, adding that Democrats have taken Black voters for granted.
El-Sayed’s campaign has centered on policies including Medicare for All, which Evans and other skeptical voters have cited as insufficient to win their support.
The Senate race between El-Sayed and Rogers remains competitive heading into the final stretch before the November 3 election, with both campaigns working to turn out their respective bases in Michigan.
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