In one of the closest battles of the election season, Abdul El-Sayed has won the Democratic Party nomination to contest the Senate seat in Michigan this November. Beating out establishment favorite Haley Stevens by just one point (48.5% to 47.5%), El-Sayed is now on a collision course with GOP candidate Mike Rodgers – and more importantly – his own party.
All Roads Lead to Michigan
Like Maine’s Graham Platner before him, El-Sayed carries a lot of baggage. Unlike Platner, however, it appears that Democrats are stuck with their Wolverine State candidate. A mix of questionable associations and comments regarding Israel pit Egyptian-born El-Sayed against his own party’s “inclusive” narrative.
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As Liberty Nation News’ Tim Donner recently wrote:
“Is the Democratic establishment shaking in its boots at the specter of Abdul El-Sayed representing their party in a crucial swing state that Trump won by 80,000 votes? In a word, yes, despite their happy talk about a ‘big tent’ that is open to all comers, from moderates to communists, apparently.”
With the backing of socialist stalwarts like Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and New York firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his position as one of “The Squad” – albeit an upper chamber version – is clear. But beyond his general adherence to policy platforms proposed by the Democratic Socialist of America, it is his borderline position on Israel that is most likely to cause headaches as the November midterms approach.
The Piker Position
A close associate of candidate El-Sayed is one Hasan Piker, an influencer of growing popularity who has openly stated that “America deserved 9/11.” Alongside the candidate’s criticism of Israel and Jewish-backed lobbying groups, he has made no secret of his hostility to the idea that Israel should even exist, calling it a “rogue state,” and demanding that the US halt all sales of arms to the beleaguered nation.
Republicans will almost certainly use El-Sayed’s Senate campaign as a broad brush to taint the rest of the Democrats’ midterm endeavors. After all, if they can successfully argue that a Democrat-controlled Senate will be more than just uninterested in aiding Israel, and, in fact, likely hostile towards the Jewish state, that is going to put off a whole heap of voters, and even party stalwarts.
When the likes of James Carville are saying they will not be in the same party as someone like Hasan Piker, and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has to fend off attacks from both his left and right, the message becomes clear: Abdul El-Sayed might well win in Michigan, but it becomes the very definition of a Pyrrhic victory.
