Sen. Bernie Sanders is accusing a segment of Democratic Party leaders and major donors of being willing to let the party's own Michigan Senate nominee fail in the general election. Sanders made the claim in comments to Politico Playbook, pointing to El-Sayed's progressive positions as the reason for the resistance.
Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan after a narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens. He is now the party's nominee for the seat, but Sanders says not everyone in the party is pulling for him.
"You're talking about a small number of people who are at the head of the Democratic Party. You're talking about the donor class..." Sanders said. "Are they less than enthusiastic about Abdul? Yes, they are."
Sanders, who backed El-Sayed throughout the primary, told Playbook that some Democrats see candidates like El-Sayed as threats to wealthy political interests and to US policy toward Israel. Sanders said those Democrats view El-Sayed and similar progressives as "a threat to oligarchy" and a "threat to American foreign policy and our continued support for the extremist Netanyahu government in Israel."
El-Sayed is also dealing with renewed scrutiny over his ties to left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who campaigned with him during the primary. Piker drew condemnation from prominent Democrats this month after making remarks about American Jews and Israel. Critics included House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Senators Cory Booker, Elissa Slotkin, and Jacky Rosen.
Democratic strategist and former Biden White House chief of staff Yemisi Egbewole pushed back on Sanders' framing in comments to Fox News Digital. "Dems want a majority in the Senate. El-Sayed apologized for his comments about the Temple Isreal attack and hasn't campaigned with Hasan. No one is as caught up in this oligarchy business as Sanders is. Stevens lost. She endorsed Abdul. It's now his job to win those voters," Egbewole said.
RNC national press secretary Natalie Baldassarre also responded, rejecting Sanders' defense of El-Sayed. "Abdul El-Sayed is a terrorist bootlicker who downplayed 9/11, pals around with a radical streamer who thinks our country deserved it, and whose mother worked for an organization that funneled money to Osama bin Laden to orchestrate it," she said. "His presence in the Senate would absolutely pose a national security threat, and it's no surprise that Democrats are losing their minds at Bernie for propping up another unelectable extremist."
El-Sayed did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Stevens, who lost the primary, has endorsed El-Sayed for the general election. The Michigan Senate seat is considered important to Democratic hopes of winning a majority in the chamber.
