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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is set to rally with former President Barack Obama on Saturday as Republicans raise questions about his support among Black voters, a crucial Democratic constituency in the battleground state.
Obama formally endorsed the Michigan Democrat earlier this month, filming a campaign ad that ran on Oct. 12 imploring his supporters "to support Abdul El-Sayed for the United States Senate." His upcoming rally with El-Sayed has become a major political event as the progressive Senate candidate continues his effort to build bridges with the Democratic Party’s establishment.
Obama's support has also renewed scrutiny of El-Sayed's past criticism of the former president, including a sharply worded 2012 essay accusing him of failing to deliver on the promises of his presidency. Conservatives have suggested that the El-Sayed campaign is leaning on Obama to build support among the African American community, whose turnout could be decisive on Election Day.
Claims that El-Sayed is only receiving lukewarm support from the Black community began during his primary race against Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens. El-Sayed performed strongly among Arab American voters during the Democratic primary, but he narrowly defeated Stevens after polls showed her attracting stronger support among Black Democratic voters. El-Sayed's uneven support among key Democratic constituencies has raised questions about his ability to unite the party's coalition heading into November.
Black voters are crucial to the Democratic coalition in Michigan. Low turnout or defections to the GOP in Michigan among African Americans could seriously endanger the Democratic Party’s path to control of the Senate.
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A poll conducted by Fox News Digital in late September found that just 77% of Black voters were supportive of El-Sayed, a figure well below where Democrats typically perform with the demographic.
It is unclear what impact, if any, Obama wading into Michigan’s Senate election will have.
Fox News Digital spoke with more than a dozen Black voters in Detroit about Obama's endorsement, finding mixed reactions that included skepticism among undecided voters and enthusiasm from others who already planned to support El-Sayed. While the undecided voters largely agreed that Obama was still a leader within the Democratic Party, they generally did not put much weight on the former president’s endorsement of El-Sayed.
"Honestly, it's a turn-off just because I've seen too many candidates use him just to manipulate the Democratic vote," Mercedes, one undecided Black voter, told Fox News Digital about Obama's endorsement.
"What he's been able to do is from an image standpoint, as far as ‘hope,’ he drove the point there," another undecided African American voter told Fox News Digital. "But as far as really giving back to the community, minority owned businesses, and everyone across the board, I don't really think he really got there for me … he really hasn't swayed me one way or another."
Rita, an undecided Black voter who said she had recently been homeless, said that Obama’s endorsement would not move the needle for her as she prefers to do her own research on candidates.
Juanita, another Black voter who wasn’t sure how she would vote in November, told Fox News Digital that, "I don't want to be pushed to vote for him because somebody else is backing him."
Even some African Americans who voted early for El-Sayed said Obama’s backing didn’t mean much of anything to them.
"I think that a lot of people put more stock into who the person is than what he does … his yay or nay doesn't sway me either way," one such voter told Fox News Digital.
Undecided voters, however, had mixed feelings about El-Sayed’s changing position on Obama.
"Yeah, I don't understand how you can endorse somebody that was kind of the opposition when you were in office," Juanita told Fox News Digital. "I mean, that doesn't make sense."
"I think I see it as a flip flop, but I also see it as an opportunity to pretty much highlight those things and how he's actually changed and why their objectives may align now," another voter said. "You know, people's objectives change, their perspectives change."
Others, however, pointed out that pivots like El-Sayed’s are nothing new in politics, pointing to the fact that Vice President JD Vance was once a staunch critic of President Donald Trump.
The controversy surrounding El-Sayed’s purported flip-flop on Obama can be traced back to a 2012 Huffington Post essay where he accused Obama of failing to live up to the progressive rhetoric he campaigned on.
"I realize that I have little hope because there has been less change," El-Sayed wrote. "But I have to say now what I’ve been holding in throughout his campaign and what I think all of us have to admit: Obama was not the right choice — he just wasn’t the wrong one."
He went on to criticize the then-president for perpetuating war, violating civil liberties and carrying out more deportations than any previous president.
The Michigan Democrat has since walked back some of those criticisms, noting that it is possible to disagree with someone while still admiring them and praising how Obama operated under the circumstances he inherited.
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Some, however, don’t buy that explanation.
Conservative commentator Jason Rantz said on a CNN panel that El-Sayed was setting aside his criticisms of Obama because he was in a desperate electoral position and needed to "try to bring in black voters."
Others, however, don’t think El-Sayed has a problem with Black voters at all.
Kandia Milton, a government affairs professional with deep ties to Detroit's African American community, told Fox News Digital that conservative claims that El-Sayed lacks appeal to Black voters are misguided.
"The great thing about Abdul is that he's not new to Detroiters. … And so Detroiters, once they understand his background, understand what he stands for and all the things that he's done in the past, you see greater enthusiasm for his campaign and his candidacy for Senate," he said. "He has been very active in getting out into the community. In fact, tomorrow we have a public meeting with Abdul at our church. Where he will be speaking to the community around, you know, the issues that he stands on and stands firm on."
El-Sayed’s rally with Obama is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. and will feature Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson and other Michigan Democrats. Attendees will be encouraged to cast early ballots in support of the Democratic ticket.
The El-Sayed campaign and representatives for the former president did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
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