WASHINGTON — Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democratic candidate for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, is expected to appear at a campaign fundraiser co-hosted by an attorney who previously drew scrutiny for publicly honoring her grandfather, a former soldier for Nazi Germany.
Kelly Neumann, a well-known Michigan lawyer and Democratic fundraiser, is helping host the event as El-Sayed works to bolster his campaign finances in the closing stretch of a primary fight against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens for the party’s Senate nomination.
Neumann came under criticism on Veterans Day in 2024 after posting a tribute to her grandfather’s military service.
“Interesting story, I do not talk much about, but my Grandfather, Albert Neumann, was on the German side in WWI & WWII,” she wrote in the Facebook post, according to Jewish Insider.
“He escaped to Brazil with my Father after Germany lost in WWII and then made their way to Detroit, where they spoke no English and worked their way up to provide a stable life for their family.”
In the same post, Neumann described her grandfather as “one of my best friends” and said he was “one of the first people in my life that accepted me as gay when I was nervous and scared.”
The Michigan attorney wrote that her grandfather’s life showed that “people can change and love indeed can win.”
Following the backlash, Neumann removed the Facebook post.
Earlier this year, Neumann issued a public apology for the post and blamed Stevens’ campaign operation for digging it up.
She also disputed the characterizations of her grandfather being a Nazi soldier, seemingly alluding to reporting that he was in the German Wehrmacht.
Many experts, as well as the Holocaust Memorial Museum, have disputed the notion that German soldiers didn’t fight for the Nazi regime.
“I sincerely apologize to anyone who was hurt by post from years ago, as that was certainly never my intention,” she wrote on Facebook in March. “I only wished to offer a personal story about my grandfather who was the first person who accepted me for me.
“To be clear, my grandfather was a german soldier, not a nazi as the Congresswoman’s team suggested.”
Neumann previously backed Dem state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s campaign for the Senate seat, but McMorrow dropped her bid earlier this month. McMorrow has refrained from making an endorsement between El-Sayed and Stevens.
El-Sayed and Stevens are vying to replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is retiring. The primary election is Aug. 4.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a Post request for comment.
But a campaign rep told Jewish Insider, “The host in question has hosted or donated to several democratic senators, congresspeople, statewide elected officials and candidates, including Abdul’s opponent, Congresswoman Stevens.
“All of us, including the host, condemn Nazi ideology.”
