Abdul El-Sayed, the left-wing Michigan Senate candidate who authored research papers warning Arab women against having children with people outside their ethnic group, has handled alleged racist attacks against him “admirably,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this week.
The socialist mayor praised El-Sayed’s approach to his high-profile Senate campaign against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican. However, just hours after the interview, El-Sayed was publicly clashing with Rep. Haley Stevens, his Democratic primary opponent, as the race entered its final stretch.
“A race of that magnitude is difficult enough as it is; to have to contend with blatantly racist attacks on a regular basis, and the silence of so many around him in the face of that — that is immensely difficult,” Mamdani told WNYC on Thursday. “And I have had to experience a version of it in our own mayoral race.”
“And I can tell you that you lean on those around you as much as you can. And you struggle every day to ensure that the race is on the terms that you wanted it to be on,” Mamdani said. “And yet, when we are speaking about millions of dollars being spent trafficking in that same racism, it becomes incredibly difficult to both respond to it and continue to move forward. And it’s a challenge that I think he’s rising to admirably.”
President Trump and Rogers have focused their criticism of El-Sayed on his alleged family connection to the Muslim Brotherhood rather than race. Trump has called him a “jihadist,” while Vice President JD Vance labeled him a “psychopath.”
While attending Columbia Medical School, El-Sayed — who has repeatedly described himself as a physician despite never completing a medical residency — wrote a paper arguing that Arab women should have children only with members of their own ethnic group to achieve the best health outcomes.
In the 2011 study, published in the “Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health,” El-Sayed warned of the risks associated with “interethnic mating,” claiming it raised the likelihood of premature births.
The paper was among several studies he authored that placed a strong focus on race and religion.
“This is ‘science’ with ‘a pre-ordained racist & eugenics outcome,’” Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, wrote on X about El-Sayed’s research. “Scary stuff.”
Mamdani was also asked about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s support for El-Sayed, who is campaigning on Medicare for All and has called for an end to US aid to Israel. Mamdani and El-Sayed both have ties to socialist activist Linda Sarsour, a prominent critic of Israel.
Ocasio-Cortez said a Democratic victory in Michigan would show that “anyone can win anywhere.” But when asked whether he would like to see Ocasio-Cortez run for president, Mamdani declined to offer a direct endorsement.
The New York “Squad” member is highlighting her national fundraising reach in a new appeal for donations Saturday, while recent socialist victories could help build momentum for a potential presidential bid.
“I want to see AOC do whatever it is that AOC wants to do,” Mamdani said.
