Why young people in Michigan are backing Abdul El-Sayed

Michigan’s Democratic nominee for US Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, has been put through the conservative wringer for some apparently unforgivable traits: namely, believing in universal healthcare, opposing military aid to Israel and having a Muslim name. The son of Egyptian immigrants, El-Sayed is a Rhodes scholar and former public health official, and though he’s been endorsed by Bernie Sanders and AOC, he still identifies as a capitalist – so long as it’s stringently regulated out of its current “corporatist” state. These positions have provoked his opponents and outside groups into spending eye-watering sums against him, including nearly $30 million from AIPAC’s political network during the Democratic primary – its largest-ever investment in a single race at the time. His fight against corporate interests, including his calls to tax extreme wealth and eliminate corporate PAC money altogether, reflects a larger shift in what voters, and particularly younger voters, are coming to expect from Democratic candidates.

If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim in the US Senate – a prospect that has driven conservative media into a months-long barrage of Islamophobic attacks. Along with the election of Zohran Mamdani, New York’s Muslim mayor, his rise has contributed to a wider right-wing panic about Sharia law descending on America. This inflammatory rhetoric goes straight to the top of the Republican Party: Trump has called him a “jihadist” and said he is “on the side of the terrorists”, while Vice President JD Vance accused him of representing something “very, very evil” and, invoking recent unrest in Paris, asked supporters to imagine “hordes of masked rioters, many from distant lands” taking over American cities – before claiming that if rioters were “burning down New York, or Detroit”, El-Sayed would be “right there leading them and cheering them on”.

Despite this onslaught and being heavily outspent by his Republican opponent Mike Rogers (who has received $95 million in backing), El-Sayed has managed to close the gap with an army of grassroots volunteers. Known for striking back against right-wing attacks with amiable machismo (he first went viral outside of Michigan for implying that Trump shits himself in the Oval Office, for example), he has charmed Democratic voters with a style that often feels less scripted than traditional campaigning.

In a high-stakes battleground state like Michigan, young voters happen to hold immense leverage to tip the political balance, meaning their concerns are a lot more important than whatever paranoia is melting the brains of Fox News anchors. Dazed spoke to young people across the state to find out if they’re buying the scare tactics, how they feel about Abdul El-Sayed as the election approaches, and the issues they care about most (other than imposing Sharia-Communism, of course). We also sent photographer Maen Hammad down to an El-Sayed campaign event in Detroit, where he captured the community spirit and energy in the room; check out his photos in the gallery above.

“Last November, when I was the vice-president of MSU Dems, we hosted Dr Abdul El-Sayed for the first time, and it really stuck with me. I remember specifically how he was very concrete with his answers. For example, someone asked if he considers what’s happening in Gaza to be a genocide, and he said ‘yes’ and then explained why. When people asked him questions, he took the time to think and explain, not just giving them a typical politician answer. The event ended at 8 pm, but he stayed an hour after just to make sure he could talk to everyone who wanted to talk to him. I’m glad that he addresses things that are important to me, such as flock cameras [AI-powered surveillance systems], AI data centres, and the cost of living, especially for young people. People are very excited about him and his campaign. It’s [different to] what young people have seen before, especially in a purple state like Michigan.

“There’s been a lot of attacks from the right about his faith and his ethnic background, which are just blatantly racist and Islamophobic. As he said himself at a town hall, ‘I’m not running to be a Muslim senator. I’m running for the US Senate, and I happen to be Muslim’. His identity really doesn’t have anything to do with his capabilities and leadership.”

“Abdul is big in our community, where he grew up in Bloomfield Hills. He goes to our mosque sometimes, and his family occasionally [has their car repaired] at my dad’s shop. So I’ve been a longtime supporter. As I grew up, I started working in healthcare, so healthcare access is super important to me, and that’s one of his main policy focuses.

“Young people are looking for energy, and that’s one of the things his campaign is giving us. We see how healthcare and the cost of living have gone up. One of the big policy issues that we focused on when we were door-knocking in Detroit was access to electricity – a couple of weeks before, we’d had huge blackouts in the city, and Michigan is ranked top ten highest for utility rates in this country. So his rhetoric around affordability has always been something that stood out to me.”

“We’re seeing a big shift in the energy on college campuses in 2024 versus now. In 2024, there was kind of a general disdain for the Democratic Party. People were very frustrated with the state of the economy and the state of different wars that were happening abroad. But now, folks are seeing themselves in candidates like Abdul El-Sayed for the first time in a very, very long time. Obviously, he wants to end the war in Iran. He’s called what’s happening in the Gaza Strip a genocide. He doesn’t take corporate PAC money. He’s pro-Medicare-for-All. Those things resonate with a lot of students, so people are really coming out and supporting him in droves.

“Abdul says things as he believes. He doesn’t capitulate. No matter who he’s talking to, whether that be CNN, Fox News or an everyday voter, his message is the same, which is that it shouldn’t be this hard to afford your gas or groceries, it shouldn’t be this hard to see a doctor, and it shouldn’t be this hard to afford to raise a family. He really wants to fight to ensure that young people, especially, are looking forward to their future instead of dreading the financial burden that comes with it.”

“I remember being 12 years old watching Donald Trump win the 2016 election, and just feeling hopeless. Our entire lives we have just seen Donald Trump’s America and [politicians making promises they don’t keep]. But Abdul is actually going to keep those promises and fight for us, because he has continuously shown up. He has a track record of making things affordable for people and relieving medical debt. And I think that’s something he’s going to continue to do in the United States Senate.”

“I think something that Abdul has done slightly differently than other Democrats has been putting the interests of the people before the interests of the corporations by not taking any corporate PAC money, by supporting things like Prop Two here in Michigan [a referendum on campaign finance reforms] and so many other amazing things that I think really adhere to young people’s vision for the future.”

“A lot of the older generations have similar experiences, like with Obama, whose legitimacy was questioned because of the colour of his skin, and I think young people are going to continue to support Abdul because we’ve seen the cycle of racism that exists in our country. We’ve seen how systemic racism continuously degrades our culture and our society, and [we won’t] give into that.”

“I don’t really have any deep personal connection to the campaign, but I would love to see Abdul win. [As for him being the first Muslim senator], it doesn’t matter if his name is Abdul El-Sayed or John Smith. I stand with what he’s standing for. Can it be said any more simply than money out of politics, money in your pocket and Medicare-for-All? 

“He’s kind of similar to Zohran Mamdani as a Democrat: he’s very out there, high energy and ‘go go go ’, and I feel like that’s why the youth, myself included, are so amped up and hyped up to see him there. We finally have someone energetic and not, like, an old grandpa speaking in monotone. 

“I think people are gonna say what they’re gonna say [regarding the Islamophobic attacks against him], but as a US citizen, if you open your ears, listen to what the man is saying and put all your biases aside, you will see a man of truth, a man of honour, and a man who truly wants to benefit the United States of America.”