In High-Stakes Michigan Senate Race, Abdul El-Sayed Co-Opts Fox News Praise in Unorthodox ‘Michigan First’ Campaign Ad
In one of the most unexpected media gambits of the midterm cycle, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed launched an aggressive six-figure television campaign across Michigan that uses prominent conservative commentators and Fox News hosts to attack his Republican opponent, former representative Mike Rogers.
The 30-second spot, titled “Michigan First,” breaks standard partisan advertising conventions by directly courting right-leaning independents, working-class conservatives, and anti-establishment voters. First reported by Semafor’s Dave Weigel, the commercial shows El-Sayed looking straight into the camera and establishing unexpected ideological alignment with conservative audiences:
“We agree on a lot,” El-Sayed begins, speaking directly to cross-aisle voters.
He outlines common ground on several populist themes, including challenging Washington party elites who spent tens of millions opposing his insurgent primary run, demanding the unredacted release of the Jeffrey Epstein investigative files, and opposing foreign conflicts that divert taxpayer dollars abroad.
El-Sayed then turns toward a television screen behind him, allowing a series of broadcast clips from leading conservative figures to deliver the message:
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Jesse Watters (Fox News): “You gotta respect Abdul because he beat the machine.” Watters later warns in another clip that Rogers is “going to have to deal with this guy.”
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Lara Trump (RNC Co-Chair): Calls El-Sayed “a great speaker.”
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Tucker Carlson: Flatly dismisses the Republican candidate, stating: “I wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gunpoint.”
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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.): Highlights the resistance El-Sayed faced from within his own party apparatus, pointing out that establishment groups spent approximately $65 million attempting to halt his primary victory, only for him to win regardless.
The commercial closes with El-Sayed delivering a direct populist appeal: “Because for me, it’s Michigan First, and we can agree on that.”
A Tight Battleground in the Final Stretch
The release comes at a critical juncture in the Michigan Senate contest, a race that could determine the balance of power in the upper chamber. Recent polling shows El-Sayed holding a narrow lead of under two percentage points within the RealClearPolitics average, putting both campaigns in a scramble for uncommitted swing voters in Macomb County, the Grand Rapids suburbs, and blue-collar manufacturing corridors across the state.
While mainstream party campaigns typically reserve paid media buys to amplify base turnout or air negative attacks against their opponents, El-Sayed’s strategy borrows rhetorical weapons directly from conservative media to neutralize Republican lines of attack. By highlighting Tucker Carlson’s criticism of Rogers and playing up shared skepticism toward foreign aid and entrenched party leadership, the campaign is attempting to peel away anti-establishment voters dissatisfied with traditional party establishments.
Rogers, a former House Intelligence Committee chairman who has campaigned heavily on national security and traditional economic issues, has described El-Sayed’s policy positions as out of step with Michigan voters, while his surrogates have pushed to consolidate the state’s Republican base ahead of Election Day.
