Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate campaign says it has raised a record sum and attracted endorsements from prominent liberal figures, including Jane Fonda and Bruce Springsteen, as the Michigan race enters its final stretch.
The progressive former public health official has become a central figure in the midterm elections after former primary rival Haley Stevens abruptly shifted her support Sunday to Republican candidate Mike Rogers.
Stevens has since issued a series of statements criticizing El-Sayed, intensifying tensions within the Democratic Party. But many influential liberal donors and public figures have responded by rallying behind the party’s nominee.
The Abdul for Senate campaign reported raising $2.4 million on Sunday—the same day Stevens appeared with Rogers at a church event and endorsed him. It was reportedly El-Sayed’s strongest fundraising day by a wide margin.
More than 65,000 donors contributed, with the average gift totaling approximately $36. The campaign said it was also its best fundraising performance since El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination in August.
‘This record-breaking grassroots fundraising haul is a testament to the excitement that Abdul’s movement has inspired in the hearts of Michiganders—and a rejection of the status quo politics that’s left Michigan behind for far too long,’ campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak said.
El-Sayed’s campaign received an additional boost when Springsteen, a longtime Democratic supporter, publicly announced his backing.
‘Dr. El-Sayed is a fighter for our American Constitution, he’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House. That’s why I’m in his corner 100 percent,’ Springsteen wrote on social media.
Abdul El-Sayed’s (pictured) campaign says it has achieved record fundraising while securing endorsements from liberal figures including Jane Fonda and Bruce Springsteen.
The progressive former public health official became a central figure in the midterm elections after primary rival Haley Stevens (pictured) switched her support Sunday to Republican Mike Rogers.
Democratic heavyweights rally behind El-Sayed
Springsteen, one of the Democratic Party’s most recognizable political allies, has regularly used his platform to support candidates across the party.
Fonda also announced her endorsement through her environmental political action committee, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, while taking an apparent swipe at Stevens.
‘Unlike some people today, we are focused on taking back the Senate. Jane is proud to stand with @abdulelsayed! Let’s get money out of politics, put money back in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All,’ she wrote.
Hillary Clinton, the party’s presidential nominee a decade ago, also voiced support for El-Sayed during several interviews Monday.
Speaking with CNN, Clinton said she was unable to understand Stevens’ decision and suggested the controversy could ultimately benefit El-Sayed.
‘I have no idea what her thinking was. If it has any impact, I think it will end up helping Abdul,’ she said.
Clinton drew on her own experience of bruising primary contests against Barack Obama in 2008 and Bernie Sanders in 2016.
‘Everybody who runs for office, who doesn’t make it is going to feel disappointed, maybe hurt, even a little angry. But you got to put that behind you and get together in order to beat what is a huge danger to our future. And that’s what should have happened here.’
El-Sayed received a high-profile endorsement from rock star Bruce Springsteen (pictured) after Stevens withdrew her support.
Jane Fonda (pictured) endorsed El-Sayed through her environmental PAC while appearing to criticize Stevens’ decision.
CNN showdown puts Stevens’ endorsement under scrutiny
The Daily Mail has contacted the El-Sayed campaign for comment on the latest endorsements.
Stevens’ dramatic reversal has triggered anger among Democrats. Senior lawmakers have denounced her move, members of her staff have resigned and President Donald Trump has publicly celebrated the decision.
Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell said Stevens had assured her Saturday night that she would not support Rogers.
By Sunday morning, however, Stevens appeared beside the Republican candidate at Detroit’s Perfecting Church, abandoning plans to campaign alongside El-Sayed.
Asked by Anderson Cooper during a tense CNN interview what had changed in the space of a single night, Stevens said: ‘I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart and that’s that.’
As the exchange grew more confrontational, Stevens suggested that Cooper himself was frustrated with her.
‘You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating,’ Cooper responded.
On Monday night, Stevens defended her decision in a lengthy post on X titled ‘The Decisions We Make.’ She accused fellow Democrats of intolerance, criticized El-Sayed and strongly rejected claims that her fiancé had influenced her choice.
Hillary Clinton, who was the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee a decade ago, voiced support for El-Sayed in several interviews Monday.
Stevens faces furious Democratic backlash
The statement followed Sunday’s difficult CNN appearance, during which Cooper repeatedly pressed Stevens to explain the sudden change in her position.
Republicans welcomed the development. Trump called Stevens a ‘Highly Respected Democrat’ and suggested he hoped she might eventually join the Republican Party.
Democratic leaders responded far less warmly.
Michigan Democratic Party chairman Curtis Hertel accused Stevens of abandoning her principles, while Dingell called the CNN interview ‘one of the most painful interviews I have watched.’
Stevens’ longtime chief of staff also stepped down, saying: ‘We are shocked and heartbroken.’
Even as the criticism mounted, Stevens concluded her statement by saying she intended to help rebuild the same party whose Senate nominee she had just rejected.
‘There is healing to be done in Michigan, in our party, and in our country,’ she wrote.
‘We can build a stronger, more welcoming, more courageous Democratic Party. And I plan to help lead that effort.’
Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers (pictured), 63, has sought to link El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Michigan Senate contest takes dramatic turn
El-Sayed, 42, is seeking to become the first Muslim senator in American history and has emerged as a frequent target of Republican attacks.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the Democratic nominee, at one point calling him a ‘jihadist.’ Rogers, 63, has also attempted to associate El-Sayed with the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed, who previously worked as a public health official, has rejected any connection to the organization and publicly disavowed it. He has also faced criticism over his links to controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker.
The contest had been classified as a toss-up by the influential Cook Political Report, which described Michigan as the state causing Democrats the greatest concern.
Late Monday, however, the publication shifted its rating to ‘Lean D’ as part of a broader forecast predicting Democratic gains of between three and six Senate seats.
