El-Sayed Rallies Voters During Final Campaign Stop In Detroit

Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee, made his final pitch to voters Monday night during a rally in Detroit: He won’t be underestimated – and Michigan voters shouldn’t be either.

“The thing that bothers me about it is that when they say I can’t win, they’re not talking about me, they’re talking about you,” he said. “And I know Michigan, and I know how big-hearted and open-minded and earnest and gritty, we in this state are.”

The campaign’s last rally, with at least 650 attendees at the Motor City’s Majestic Theater, marked a chaotic closing chapter, in which El-Sayed’s primary challenger, Rep. Haley Stevens, gave an eleventh-hour heel-turn endorsement of the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers. However, he was joined in Detroit by other Michigan Democratic leaders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Hip-hop artist and activist Common also performed at the event.

El-Sayed has become a leading name among progressive Democrats while facing strong pushback from the president and other conservative critics. Over $400 million has been spent on the Senate contest.

“We beat their $70 million in the primary; they might as well have set their money on fire,” he said. “And we’re going to beat their $250 million in the general. Go on and set your money on fire. Because we believe in the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And we, the people, got something to say.”

“Nothing can stop us when we stand united as one,” Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said of El-Sayed. “Throughout this campaign, we have watched him rise to every challenge, and I know that he will bring that same energy, that same backbone, that same compassion, and that same determination.”

Garlin Gilchrist, the state’s current lieutenant governor and candidate for secretary of state, underscored how mission-critical Black voters will be on Tuesday and said he, too, will stand up to Trump.

“We need every single vote to be turned in, because every voice in this state matters and the biggest city in this state, the most decisive city in this state, the most decisive voters in this state are the Black voters of Detroit. And as one of those voters, and as your next Secretary of State, I will make sure that Donald Trump keeps his hands the hell off your votes in our election,” said Gilchrist.