Ocasio-Cortez moves $1 million into Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate fight
The story
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has transferred $1 million to help Abdul El-Sayed win Michigan's open Senate seat, a big show of support from one of the best known progressives in the country.
The money went to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund, a joint fundraising effort shared by El-Sayed's campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Michigan Democratic Party. Ocasio-Cortez said it came from her campaign account, which is funded by millions of small donors, and not from her own pocket.
She said she was acting to push back against what she called smears aimed at El-Sayed. Some of the attacks on him have focused on his Muslim faith, his Egyptian heritage and his support for Palestinians. "I'm not waking up on November 4th wishing I did more to combat the smears aimed at Abdul," she said in a statement. "I'm leaving everything I can on the field."
El-Sayed narrowly beat Representative Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary and now faces Republican former Representative Mike Rogers. The race has become one of the most expensive in Michigan history, with spending passing $268 million as of October 15, and it could help decide which party controls the Senate after the November 3 midterms.
Ocasio-Cortez has spent this week campaigning across Michigan with El-Sayed, including a bus tour through the Upper Peninsula and three events in Detroit on Friday. A transfer this large from a House member to a Senate campaign is unusual, and it comes as she is widely seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate.
