Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vice President JD Vance drew crowds to separate Michigan campaign events Thursday as they backed opposing candidates in one of the country's most closely watched Senate races. Ocasio-Cortez joined Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed for a rally in Marquette, while Vance appeared alongside Republican Mike Rogers at the LevelUp Training Complex in Monroe. Photos from the two events show supporters gathered to hear two prominent figures in their respective parties make their case ahead of the November 3 election.
Ocasio-Cortez described the Marquette event as "packed" after taking the stage, while photographs from Vance's Monroe event showed supporters gathered inside the venue. The images offer a look at the respective crowds, though photographs alone cannot establish precise attendance or provide a direct comparison between events held in different venues. Ocasio-Cortez used her Marquette appearance to accuse Republicans of attempting to make El-Sayed appear frightening to Michigan voters.
"What they're betting on is that if they can make you scared of him, then that means you won't listen to him," Ocasio-Cortez said. "They know that if people start listening to him, that they might like what they hear, and they don't want that to happen." She also contrasted El-Sayed with Rogers. "When no one was watching, Dr.
Abdul El-Sayed was getting glasses for kids," Ocasio-Cortez said. "But when no one was looking, Mike Rogers was taking checks from pharmaceutical interests. When no one was watching, he went to go work for them in the revolving door after he left Congress." El-Sayed focused part of his speech on affordability, saying it "should not be this hard" to buy groceries, fill a gas tank, afford a home or see a doctor.
"Shouldn't be this hard to keep our money here," he said. "Spend it on roads and bridges here, build our schools here, provide healthcare here." In Monroe, Vance delivered a sharply different assessment of El-Sayed, accusing him of focusing more on conflicts in the Middle East than issues facing Michigan. "He's 10 times more interested in what's happening in Palestine than in Port Huron," Vance said.
"He's way more interested in what's happening in Gaza than he is in what's happening in Grand Rapids." Vance later described El-Sayed as "one of the worst people running in the history of the United States of America," prompting people in the crowd to shout, "Lock him up!" "Sir, you can say that but I can't," Vance responded. America's vice president also called El-Sayed "a little weasel" who should "shut his mouth and show a little gratitude to the country that gave him everything." El-Sayed responded during his appearance in Marquette, saying: "Let me tell you, nobody understands how deep and profound the gift of this country is, like a kid who was born here, but for the accident of history that allowed that to happen." He later turned Vance's insult into a Michigan-Ohio rivalry joke. JD Vance called me a little weasel today," El-Sayed said.
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