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. ROGERS ARGUES EL-SAYED IS VULNERABLE WITH 2 TRADITIONALLY DEMOCRATIC BLOCS AS OBAMA HEADS TO MICHIGAN Claims that El-Sayed is only receiving lukewarm support from the Black community began during his primary race against Democratic Rep. 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.
OBAMA'S STAR POWER GETS A REALITY CHECK FROM BLACK VOTERS IN CRUCIAL SENATE RACE: 'IT'S A TURNOFF' 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. MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED SAYS LEADERS MUST ADDRESS ‘UNPAID DEBTS’ TO BLACK COMMUNITIES "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. SOCIALIST POLITICIANS ARE 'MORE RACIST THAN THE KKK,' SAYS BLACK DEM OFFICIAL URGING VOTERS TO DITCH EL-SAYED "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.
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