WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren formally endorsed Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed Monday following a series of setbacks for her chosen candidates in this midterm cycle.
Warren (D-Mass.) is scheduled to stump with El-Sayed this coming weekend ahead of the Aug. 4 primary after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) rallied with him on Sunday.
“He’s growing a movement of working people all across Michigan,” Warren declared of El-Sayed in a video endorsement. “Michiganders deserve a senator who will fight for you, not for special interests running millions of dollars in TV ads to buy this seat.”
Warren previously backed State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the primary earlier this month after her poll numbers collapsed.
Warren also endorsed Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner before he suspended his run following a barrage of sexual assault and physical abuse allegations. She also backed unsuccessful Iowa Senate candidate Zach Wahls and Illinois House candidate Junaid Ahmed.
El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) are battling for the nod to take on Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.
The former Detroit health official has been criticized for his harsh rhetoric toward Stevens, including his suggestion that she’s incapable of stringing together “two coherent sentences.”
“I don’t think it’s kind to make fun of somebody for how they talk or how they show up. I also don’t think it’s kind to make insinuations about somebody’s character, as is being done to the tune of tens of millions of dollars,” El-Sayed told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“[Stevens] met my daughter, [who’s] eight years old. She told her, ‘You should be really proud of your dad.’ Although her allies are now running ads to say that somehow I’m disrespectful to women, which my daughter is now hearing about,” he whined.
“I’d like to hear the same kindness.”
Earlier this month, El-Sayed ripped into Stevens during an interview with Semafor, calling her “a suit with a large AIPAC bank account.”
“I hope maybe they find some way to teach her how to string together two coherent sentences,” he told the outlet.
“I guess, at some point, when you sell out for that many corporations and special interests, I guess you forget how to think for yourself.”
On Friday, El-Sayed urged his followers to tone down their attacks on Stevens and focus on substance.
“It’s become impossible to ignore the way that people online make fun of my opponent for things that have nothing to do with her policies or politics,” he posted on X Friday. “It’s unkind and unhelpful. If you support me, please stop.”
The latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls shows Stevens leading El-Sayed by four percentage points following McMorrow’s departure from the race.
