Michigan Democrat butts heads with CNN's Jake Tapper. What to know
In Michigan, a Bernie Sanders-backed Senate candidate could upend a Democratic primary. The race will test progressives' popularity in a key swing state Trump won.
Jay StahlA first-time Senate candidate in Michigan is exciting the party's left wing as progressives upend primaries from New York to California.
Abdul El-Sayed made headlines July 19 when he appeared on CNN to discuss his Democratic primary in Michigan's Senate race and slammed Jake Tapper and the anchor's line of questioning about Iran and Israel. Progressives are hoping El-Sayed, a public health officer, can defeat Rep. Haley Stevens, a centrist congresswoman elected in Democrats' 2018 blue wave during President Donald Trump's first term.
El-Sayed's answers highlight growing Democratic divisions over the Middle East less than a week after over 100 House Democrats voted to cut more than $3 billion in aid to Israel.
"Every time I come on CNN, you guys ask me the same questions about these theoretical rights of existence, or whether or not I agree with the mayor of New York," El-Sayed told Tapper, referring to Zohran Mamdani, a prominent Israel critic.
The Michigan Democratic Senate primary has been characterized as a "battle for Democrats' soul" by Vox, a left-leaning outlet. The race highlights Democrats' ideological differences over Israel and will test progressives' popularity in a key swing state Trump won in 2024.
The winner of the clash will face former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican who narrowly lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin two years ago. El-Sayed, a father of two daughters with his psychiatrist wife, is endorsed by progressive beacons such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan's own Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
Stevens has garnered support from Slotkin, her potential predecessor; Sen. Gary Peters and former Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren endorsed El-Sayed on July 20 after supporting state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the race July 5.
For Democrats to pick up four seats in the Senate and reclaim a majority, they must hold Michigan. Stevens, a moderate, is pro-Israel while El-Sayed is pro-Palestinian. He has repeatedly slammed the congresswoman for receiving support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
El-Sayed was leading most polls in the three-way field, but since McMorrow dropped out, Stevens took the lead in a Detroit News poll 48% to 41%.
Some moderate Democrats fear nominating El-Sayed would put their party's hold on the Michigan Senate seat in jeopardy. Here's what to know about the rising star on the left.
Dr. El-Sayed is Rhodes Scholar but is not a practicing physician
Born in Detroit, El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, played high school football at Bloomfield Hills Andover High School and then attended the University of Michigan and its medical school. He was a Rhodes Scholar, obtaining a doctorate in public health at the University of Oxford and a medical degree from Columbia University
El-Sayed became one of the youngest public health officers in America
In 2015, former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan named El-Sayed executive director of the Detroit Health Department in August 2015. At 30, El-Sayed became one of the nation's youngest public health officers in a major city.
A Politico article published in May revealed that despite referring to himself as a physician, he has likely never been a licensed medical doctor.
"He has earned the right to be called 'doctor' twice over," El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner told Politico in a statement. El-Sayed told Columbia's medical magazine that he took "the opportunity to come back home to help rebuild the collapsed health infrastructure and make it work" in Detroit.
"Sometimes I do wish that the entire field of scope of my job was entirely under my hands," El-Sayed told Columbia. "And in some ways, my role is to perform societal surgery. We know what we want to accomplish, but the task is far more complex."
El-Sayed lost to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in primary
El-Sayed ran for Michigan governor in the 2018 Democratic primary, losing to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and resigned from his post as Detroit's health director. He was endorsed in the race by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez.
He later hosted "America Dissected," a podcast from Crooked Media, a progressive media company founded by former aides to former President Barack Obama. From December 2022 to April 2025, he served as Wayne County's director of health, human and veteran services.
Michigan race highlights Democrats' ideological differences
The same month, El-Sayed announced his run for Senate. He now faces Stevens after McMorrow exited the race earlier this month.
In a March interview with USA TODAY, El-Sayed said that "the central difference between me and many other Democrats is I'm not going to bend over backwards to justify an illegal and unjustifiable war," referencing the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
He added, "The point of this was never about liberating Iran. The point of this was always about the president trying to distract us by getting us involved in yet another foreign entanglement."
Stevens has suggested that El-Sayed is supported by Sanders and "the complaining class" and scrutinized his financial disclosures.
El-Sayed criticizes Tapper over questioning
On July 19, El-Sayed appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and was questioned by Tapper about comments that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani made in The New York Times about Democrats having a big tent party.
When asked if there is still room in the party for Democrats who work with AIPAC, Mamdani told the Times, "If they are Democrats and they run as Democrats and they win as Democrats, then they should be a part of the Democratic Party."
Tapper insinuated that El-Sayed disagreed with Mamdani because he once told CNN that support for Israel was influenced by AIPAC. "Not if you're a Democrat and you believe in human rights," Tapper quoted El-Sayed saying.
"So, it sounds as though – and correct me if I’m wrong – it sounds as though you and Mayor Mamdani disagree about how big this tent should be, whether there’s room … in the tent for Israel supporters," Tapper said.
El-Sayed responded by telling Tapper, "Well Jake, I'll tell you this, there's always room in the tent for folks." He said he was for equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination. "Whatever you think about Israel's right to exist, I wonder if they have a right to our tax dollars," he continued.
El-Sayed then added that "every time I come on CNN, you guys ask me the same questions about these theoretical rights of existence, or whether or not I agree with the mayor of New York."
"I'm running for Senate in Michigan and in Michigan, people can't afford their basic needs. They don't get the healthcare they need and deserve. They're worried about the quality of their kids' school," El-Sayed said. "And the questions seem less to be about the interests of Michiganders than the fact of something happening 6,000 miles away."
Contributing: Phillip M. Bailey