{"id":35013,"date":"2026-08-09T19:33:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35013"},"modified":"2026-08-09T19:33:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:33:39","slug":"abdul-el-sayed-says-he-hopes-to-campaign-with-obama-after-phone-call-to-discuss-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35013","title":{"rendered":"Abdul El-Sayed says he hopes to campaign with Obama after phone call to discuss campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-45036a\" class=\"body-graf\">Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, on Sunday confirmed that he spoke to former President Barack Obama following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/abdul-el-sayed-wins-michigans-democratic-senate-primary-notching-midwe-rcna589750\" target=\"_blank\">his primary victory<\/a> last week, adding that he hopes the former president joins him on the campaign trail this fall.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-4cf26d\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cIt was a really warm and inspiring conversation,\u201d El-Sayed told NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press\u201d about his call with the former president. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-85c5a4\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI was grateful for his advice,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was very warm, very inviting, and I know that he knows the critical role that Michigan is going to play in holding [President Donald] Trump accountable, in winning back the Senate, and in building forward the future that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-c3e17b\" class=\"body-graf\">Asked by \u201cMeet the Press\u201d moderator Kristen Welker whether the former president plans to join El-Sayed on the campaign trail this fall, the Democratic Senate nominee said, \u201cI really hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__FvnTh styles_medium__MEKii\" id=\"anchor-f9c4ff\"><picture class=\"styles_image__i32F7\" data-testid=\"picture\" data-flavor=\"fit\" data-original-height=\"800\" data-original-width=\"1200\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260809-el-sayed-obama-vl-1011a-e22c1f.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260809-el-sayed-obama-vl-1011a-e22c1f.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260809-el-sayed-obama-vl-1011a-e22c1f.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260809-el-sayed-obama-vl-1011a-e22c1f.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260809-el-sayed-obama-vl-1011a-e22c1f.jpg\" alt=\"A split composite image of Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Barack Obama\" height=\"800\" width=\"1200\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__TCewG\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Abdul El-Sayed; Barack Obama.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Getty Images file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"anchor-f7bc25\" class=\"body-graf\">El-Sayed on Tuesday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/abdul-el-sayed-wins-michigans-democratic-senate-primary-notching-midwe-rcna589750\" target=\"_blank\">narrowly beat<\/a> Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens in the state\u2019s Democratic primary for Senate, kicking off a fresh round of dialogue nationally about the future of the Democratic Party. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-2cb74c\" class=\"body-graf\">El-Sayed, a physician and former county health department director, won the primary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/bernie-sanders-aoc-bring-anti-establishment-fight-michigan-rcna588195\" target=\"_blank\">with the backing<\/a> of several heavyweight progressive national figures, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-43f334\" class=\"body-graf\">On Sunday, El-Sayed dismissed concerns about his support in Michigan after Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who ran in the primary but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/mallory-mcmorrow-ends-bid-democratic-senate-nomination-michigan-rcna353053\" target=\"_blank\">suspended<\/a> her campaign in July, drew more votes combined than the eventual Democratic Senate nominee in Tuesday\u2019s primary.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-48b44a\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cFive hundred thousand more Democrats voted than did Republicans in that election,\u201d El-Sayed told Welker. \u201cIf that happens [in November], we are going to win in a landslide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-2871c6\" class=\"body-graf\">He added, \u201cI know that we had it out with a very tough primary. There were a lot of issues that were discussed and differences that were identified and fixated on, but I will tell you this: that all of us agree that our differences are far smaller than what we agree on. And what we agree on is that Donald Trump has been an existential threat to our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-b2f80b\" class=\"body-graf\">El-Sayed also drew scrutiny for his friendship and campaign appearances with progressive media figures like Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who previously said on a livestream that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11.\u201d Piker has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lKQGvVsRpaE\" target=\"_blank\">since apologized <\/a>for the remark.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-a2c6a2\" class=\"body-graf\">On Sunday, El-Sayed called Piker\u2019s comments about 9\/11 \u201cdumb,\u201d and called the resurfacing of those statements \u201cgotcha politics.\u201d He didn\u2019t commit to campaigning with or without Piker during the general election, instead saying that he\u2019ll need a broad coalition of voters to win in November, including those who follow Piker.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-bd325d\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI\u2019m less concerned now with who I\u2019m campaigning with [and] a lot more concerned about who I\u2019m campaigning to. We\u2019ve got a lot of work to do to continue to build the coalition that\u2019s going to beat Mike Rogers,\u201d El-Sayed said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__FvnTh styles_medium__MEKii\" id=\"anchor-210eeb\"><picture class=\"styles_image__i32F7\" data-testid=\"picture\" data-flavor=\"fit\" data-original-height=\"1333\" data-original-width=\"2000\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260730-ocasio-el-sayed-sanders-vl-315p-4886b2.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260730-ocasio-el-sayed-sanders-vl-315p-4886b2.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260730-ocasio-el-sayed-sanders-vl-315p-4886b2.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260730-ocasio-el-sayed-sanders-vl-315p-4886b2.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260730-ocasio-el-sayed-sanders-vl-315p-4886b2.jpg\" alt=\"From left, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Abdul El-Sayed, and Bernie Sanders\" height=\"1333\" width=\"2000\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__TCewG\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during  a campaign event in Detroit.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Nic Antaya \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"anchor-fac1eb\" class=\"body-graf\">He added, when pressed by Welker, \u201cI think we have this notion sometimes on shows like this that we cannot or should not talk to certain groups of people, and I will tell you that the 3 million people who listen to Hasan are people I want to make sure understand that there\u2019s a pathway into our politics around getting money out of politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-74d05d\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI\u2019m going to continue to have the conversations with those folks who we desperately need to reach out to. Just like I\u2019m going to continue to have conversations with seniors in senior homes, folks up north, folks in Detroit, folks in Grand Rapids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-38dde5\" class=\"body-graf\">El-Sayed ran as an unabashed progressive, rejecting money from special interest groups during the campaign and pledging, if elected, to vote against support for Israel and in favor of expanding Medicare for All.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-93bdd2\" class=\"body-graf\">Stevens, meanwhile, ran in the moderate lane, earning tens of millions in dollars of support from industry groups and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC \u2014 a bipartisan group that backs politicians who support Israel. El-Sayed made Stevens\u2019 support from AIPAC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/michigan-democratic-senate-primary-aipac-israel-rcna590996\" target=\"_blank\">a cornerstone of his campaign against her<\/a>, capitalizing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/poll-israels-standing-plummets-democrats-fueling-primaries-left-rcna262995\" target=\"_blank\">plummeting support<\/a> for Israel\u2019s government among members of his party.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3e0875\" class=\"body-graf\">The general election, where El-Sayed faces GOP nominee Mike Rogers in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races this year, will be a major test of whether El-Sayed\u2019s progressive brand of politics can win in a general election in a battleground state.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3c8bbd\" class=\"body-graf\">Republicans in Michigan and nationally have already begun to attack El-Sayed as a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PollTracker2024\/status\/2084999076152512853?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cradical\u201d and \u201cdangerous,\u201d<\/a> using his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, in videos released this week by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans\u2019 campaign arm.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-dda82a\" class=\"body-graf\">El-Sayed characterized the attacks as similar to those from Republicans who have used Obama\u2019s full name \u2014 Barack Hussein Obama \u2014 to attack him.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-4a36b2\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cWe always knew they were going to go here. I mean, notice how they chose to use my full name in echoes to exactly what they did against President Obama,\u201d El-Sayed told Welker.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-41fb15\" class=\"body-graf\">He added, \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s not radical to believe that people should be able to afford their groceries. It\u2019s not radical to believe that you should have health care in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__FvnTh styles_medium__MEKii\" id=\"anchor-0042dd\"><picture class=\"styles_image__i32F7\" data-testid=\"picture\" data-flavor=\"fit\" data-original-height=\"1667\" data-original-width=\"2500\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260806-abdul-mi-ac-0209p-ac588e.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260806-abdul-mi-ac-0209p-ac588e.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260806-abdul-mi-ac-0209p-ac588e.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260806-abdul-mi-ac-0209p-ac588e.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260806-abdul-mi-ac-0209p-ac588e.jpg\" alt=\"Abdul El-Sayed, U.S. Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, speaks during a primary election night watch party at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, MI on August 5, 2026. \" height=\"1667\" width=\"2500\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__TCewG\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Abdul El-Sayed, U.S. Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, during a primary election night watch party at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit on Aug. 5. <\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Sarah Rice \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"anchor-4e5678\" class=\"body-graf\">Since his primary win on Tuesday, prominent Democrats who were skeptical of El-Sayed during the primary or endorsed Stevens quickly rallied around their party\u2019s nominee.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ed5148\" class=\"body-graf\">On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he had a \u201cvery good talk\u201d that day with El-Sayed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-21ca9b\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI\u2019m feeling optimistic about winning the Senate and with Michigan,\u201d he added to reporters at the Capitol. \u201cWe are going to win in Michigan. We\u2019re going to beat Rogers, and we\u2019re going to take back the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-4e44bf\" class=\"body-graf\">And on Thursday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/gretchenwhitmer\/status\/2085387663918428548?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">campaigned alongside<\/a> her party\u2019s Democratic nominees for statewide office, including El-Sayed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-f82163\" class=\"body-graf\">Stevens, too, quickly backed El-Sayed this week after losing to him in the primary, telling NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press NOW\u201d that there\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/video\/michigan-rep-haley-stevens-says-there-s-no-drama-after-primary-loss-to-el-sayed-267962437902\" target=\"_blank\">no drama<\/a>\u201d between the two.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-643ab9\" class=\"body-graf\">Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who appeared later on \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d said he was excited to join El-Sayed on the campaign trail and that he expected that a lot of his fellow Senate Democrats would travel to Michigan this fall.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-21a084\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">\u201cI think you\u2019ll see a lot of my colleagues in Michigan, I\u2019ll be there supporting him because he\u2019s presenting a strong contrast with a candidate who is pro-corporate, who is pro-Trump, who is pro-war,\u201d Murphy told Welker. \u201cI think he\u2019s going to do incredibly well in that campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, on Sunday confirmed that he spoke to former President Barack Obama following his primary victory last week, adding that he hopes the former president joins him on the campaign trail this fall. \u201cIt was a really warm and inspiring conversation,\u201d El-Sayed told NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260809-abdul-el-sayed-vl-1026a-8a901e.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}