Reacting to Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow win Tuesday, Michigan conservative activist Ron Armstrong is feeling positive about Mike Rogers, the GOP nominee and former 8th District congressman.
Armstrong, who leads Stand up Michigan, told American Family News the Republican Party is pouring resources into his state to help Rogers win. That big-money effort includes the Senate Leadership Fund, which had already pledged $45 million during the primary.
Another campaign source for Rogers is America PAC, the Elon Musk-founded group that helped Republicans in 2024, Armstrong said.
“They are going to be putting major money into Michigan,” he said, “which is going to be on-the-ground money: Knocking on doors, making phone calls, relational organizing.”
Rogers, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, ran for Senate in 2024. He narrowly lost that race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in a razor-thin 48.6%-48.3% finish.
Donald Trump won Michigan, and its 15 electoral votes, in 2024. He won the state 49%-48% over Kamala Harris.
The national Republican Party is feeling confident about November — and watching the Democratic National Committee grow nervous — after El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, 48%-47%, on Tuesday.
“Abdul El-Sayed’s victory sends tremors through Democratic Party,” reads a BCC headline about the party risking possible control of the Senate, in a swing state like Michigan, on such a controversial candidate.
In a post-primary analysis, CNN found Stevens did best among black voters and working-class voters. Despite wooing those voters, too, El-Sayed’s biggest support came from college towns across Michigan.
Robert Knight, the Washington Times columnist, told AFN that El-Sayed’s win is a “major victory” for the far-left wing of the Democratic Party.
“Given the other string of victories of Democratic Socialists of America candidates, and other leftists,” Knight observed, “this Michigan result means Islamists and socialists have effectively taken over the Democratic Party.”
AFN previously reported that El-Sayed, who has insisted he is not a DSA member, has been a frequent attendee at numerous DSA events.
A Washington Free Beacon investigation found El-Sayed has attended (pictured at left) at least six DSA events in all, going back to at least 2019.
DSA members have also been sloppy on social media about hiding the organization’s door-knocking, get-out-the-vote operation in Michigan.
Dem goes far beyond criticizing Netanyahu
El-Sayed, whose family is from Egypt, has made numerous controversial remarks about Israel and its right to exist among Muslims and Arabs in the Middle East.
A common talking point among Democrats is criticizing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and condemning the “genocide” of Palestinian civilians killed in the IDF’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
That view is not considered a controversial one among Democrats, but El-Sayed’s mask seemed to slip in an August 6 MSNOW interview.
“I think we’ve seen the worst of what the Israeli government has done,” he told MSNOW. “But let’s not forget that we’ve been talking about an illegal apartheid regime for a very, very long time, and that supersedes Netanyahu himself.”
El-Sayed’s reference to an “illegal” regime refers to the radical view that modern-day Israel sits on land stolen from Muslims and Arabs.
El-Sayed is also being criticized for campaigning with Hasan Piker (pictured below), the vulgar communist podcaster. Piker has told his audience he supports murdering capitalists and assassinating Republican politicians, and he has said America deserved the 9/11 attack in 2001.
Piker, who is routinely vulgar, complained after Tuesday's election that people who don't support El-Sayed are "unbelievably Islamaphobic" and furthered that thought with a graphic expletive.
After the Tuesday election, El-Sayed sought to allay fears of "Jewish-American sisters and brothers" among Michigan voters by telling them he was committed to their safety.
