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El-Sayed’s campaign test: Can he win over Black and Jewish voters?
Confirmed
In Short: El-Sayed's campaign performed well among traditionally progressive groups, including younger voters and those with college educations, but faced skepticism from Jewish voters.
Early Tuesday morning, El-Sayed addressed his supporters at the Majestic Theater in Detroit, acknowledging the significant financial disparity in the campaign, with his opponents outspending him 11 to 1.
Paul Brown, a 92-year-old Ann Arbor resident, expressed doubt about El-Sayed's candidacy, citing his Muslim identity and perceived liberalism.
El-Sayed predicted that his opponents would spend an additional $35 million in the general election, highlighting the financial challenges his campaign faces.
Jonathan Warshay, the town supervisor of West Bloomfield, noted that many Jewish voters he knew would not support El-Sayed due to concerns about antisemitism.
El-Sayed's criticism of Israel and his perceived liberal stance have alienated some Jewish voters, who are now being targeted by Republican candidate Mike Rogers.
Rogers believes that if he can secure half of the 70,000 Jewish Democratic voters in Michigan, it could provide a significant boost to his campaign.
J Street, a liberal Jewish advocacy group, announced it will spend $3 million to defeat Republican candidates backed by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby.
The Anti-Defamation League has been tracking a surge in antisemitic posts on social media platforms, particularly targeting Amy-Jill Levine, the newly appointed president of the Catholic Biblical Association.
Social media platforms continue to provide a space for the spread of hate and disinformation, as noted in a recent report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
El-Sayed's campaign is now focused on mending fences and uniting voters, despite the challenges posed by the financial disparity and voter skepticism.
El-Sayed's supporters, like Hasan Piker, a progressive Twitch streamer, believe that the campaign's efforts to address criticisms may have backfired, leading to further division.
The $3 million will be spent on ads targeting Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for US Senate in Georgia against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, and a handful of incumbents: Ohio Rep. Max Miller, who is running for reelection amid allegations of domestic abuse, which he denies; Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden; Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Mackenzie; and Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
What this adds
El-Sayed's financial disparity and voter skepticism among Jewish voters highlight the challenges he faces in the general election.
What's confirmed
- The $3 million will be spent on ads targeting Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for US Senate in Georgia against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, and a handful of incumbents: Ohio Rep. Max Miller, who is running for reelection amid allegations of domestic abuse, which he denies; Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden; Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Mackenzie; and Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
- “AIPAC members are focused on helping elect Democrats and Republicans who will strengthen the US-Israel partnership, while J Street is focused on turning support for the Jewish state into a partisan political football,” said AIPAC’s spokesperson.
What's still developing
- El-Sayed did best among traditionally progressive groups: college-educated voters and voters under 45.
- “They’re probably going to turn around and spend, I don’t know, another $35 million in the general,” El-Sayed said during a pre-election day press conference.
- “Whatever differences we had in the primary pale in comparison to a Mike Rogers, who will just do whatever Donald Trump wants him to do,” she said.
- “Young people have watched for years as our leaders have failed to meaningfully deliver for them,” said Melat Kiros, a Democratic nominee for Congress in Colorado, who was at El-Sayed’s election night party on Tuesday after defeating an incumbent in her own primary earlier this summer.
- Outside a polling place in West Bloomfield—an affluent Detroit suburb that has a large Jewish community and that is represented by Stevens—some voters I spoke with said they would refuse to vote for El-Sayed in the general election.
- Lander has made a name for himself during his campaign as a vocal Jewish voice critical of Israel, and he spent a chunk of the home stretch of his campaign traveling to the West Bank to hear Palestinians’ experiences with violence from Israeli settlers.
- A growing coalition of Queens Republican, Jewish and community leaders is looking to turn grassroots energy into action as the campaign season moves into its critical final stretch before Election Day.
- Local leaders and activists said they wanted to see Blakeman spend more time in the borough — visiting neighborhoods, meeting directly with residents and community leaders and engaging with the diverse communities that make up Queens – including Jewish, Asian, Hispanic and other ethnic groups.
- The Anti-Defamation League accused the online encyclopedia of spreading anti-Jewish misinformation.
- Rapper Macklemore has said his recent calls to "Free Palestine" while on tour with singer Ed Sheeran in the US were not intended as an attack on Jewish people.
- In a video posted on his social media channels on Monday, Macklemore was seen on stage saying: "To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you." Israel rejects allegations of genocide.
- "There are about 70,000 Jewish Democrats. If we get half of them to vote for us, which we think — we had an event last night. Had over 1,000 people at it. We’re fired up and excited and scared for their children, by the way. They’re afraid for their children. They’re with us, and they’re going to vote, we think, 35,000 votes out of the Jewish Democrat — these are normally solid Democratic votes."