Trump and Mike Rogers have questioned El-Sayed's alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which he denies.
Republicans hope the attacks will weaken El-Sayed's support among Black and Jewish voters in Michigan.
The closely contested Senate race could affect Democrats' chances of regaining control of the chamber.
President Donald Trump and Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers have intensified attacks on Democratic rival Abdul El-Sayed less than two weeks before Michigan votes in the November 3 midterm elections. Trump has called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and claimed he is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an allegation El-Sayed denies. The claims have placed his faith and alleged family connections at the centre of a closely contested Senate race.
According to Reuters, Republicans are seeking to weaken El-Sayed’s support among Jewish and Black voters, particularly those who backed his primary opponent, Haley Stevens. The strategy could affect not only Michigan’s Senate contest but also Democrats’ efforts to regain control of the chamber.
Why Republicans Are Making The Muslim Brotherhood A Campaign Issue
During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on October 14, Trump said El-Sayed was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. “We don't, we don't need the Muslim Brotherhood in, uh, as a senator,” he added, according to a transcript published by Roll Call. El-Sayed denies any connection to the organisation, and the allegations do not establish membership.
In a video message to Michigan voters published on October 15, Trump called El-Sayed a “Muslim radical” and a “Muslim Brotherhood member”.
Rogers has also repeatedly raised the issue. During a televised debate, he questioned El-Sayed’s allegiance to the United States.
“If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know: are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers asked.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate if he wins. He rejected Rogers’ question as an attempt to cast suspicion on his faith.
“It's actually quite beneath you, Mike,” he responded. “I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray.”
Rogers, a former congressman, US Army officer and FBI agent, later appealed directly to Democrats who voted for Stevens, saying they “have a home” with him if they considered El-Sayed too “extreme”.
Republicans have pointed to old social media posts by El-Sayed’s half-sister alleging that their mother was involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s. El-Sayed has said he was not raised by his mother. His parents divorced when he was three, and he grew up with his father and stepmother.
El-Sayed has denied links to the organisation and explicitly disavowed it. At an October 17 town hall, when asked whether he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, he answered: “Sure, yeah, absolutely.”
PolitiFact rated Rogers’ claim that El-Sayed had not disavowed the organisation false. It also noted that a 2012 statement El-Sayed signed in support of Egypt’s elected president was not a pledge of support for the Muslim Brotherhood as a whole.
His campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner told Reuters: “Independent fact checkers have repeatedly debunked Mike’s lies, but their campaign continues to use bad faith attacks on Abdul's faith and family.”
Rogers’ spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet, meanwhile, said El-Sayed’s “extremist positions” on issues including prisons and the Muslim Brotherhood were alienating voters.
Can The Attacks Divide Democratic Voters In Michigan?
According to Reuters, Rogers’ strategy is aimed partly at discouraging Jewish and Black voters who supported Stevens in the Democratic primary from backing El-Sayed in the general election.
Republican political consultant Dennis Darnoi told Reuters that the approach could benefit Rogers if Democratic voters withheld their support from El-Sayed in the Detroit area.
“It gives them even more reason to pause and not vote for El-Sayed,” Darnoi said. “If Democratic voters aren't casting ballots for El-Sayed in what is the biggest population area here, then that is a net benefit to Mike Rogers' campaign.”
Some strategists say the attacks may have come too late to reshape the race and risk backfiring if voters view them as anti-Muslim.
“I don't know what this does for them,” said Jim Zogby, a longtime pollster and co-founder of the Arab American Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for the Arab American community.
“There are people who think Haitians eat cats and dogs and think anybody with an Arabic name is either a terrorist or a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. But that's a much smaller group of people - and it's already a Republican group of people.”
The strategy also intersects with disagreements over Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Rogers has criticised El-Sayed’s position on Israel in an effort to undermine his support among Jewish voters.
Tensions between Black and Arab American communities could also complicate El-Sayed’s campaign. Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus Chair Keith Williams, who supported Stevens in the primary but is now working to mobilise support for El-Sayed, acknowledged the challenge.
“We have to work through our differences,” Williams told Reuters. “At the end of the day, this election is bigger than our differences because we cannot have a senator going to Washington and supporting Donald Trump's policies.”
A September Emerson College poll put El-Sayed’s support among Black voters at 81%. Black voters make up about a quarter of Michigan Democrats. Matt Taglia, the college’s senior director of polling, told Reuters there had been no indication of declining support in mid-September and that he did not expect the figure to have changed substantially over the following month.
Michigan pollster Steve Mitchell estimated that weaker support among Black and Jewish voters could cost El-Sayed as many as 20,000 votes. Rogers lost his 2024 Senate bid to Democrat Elissa Slotkin by a similar margin, Reuters reported.
From Ilhan Omar To Zohran Mamdani: A Wider Political Pattern
El-Sayed’s campaign comes amid attacks on other Muslim American politicians. In February 2026, Trump said Democratic Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib should be “institutionalized” and sent back to “where they came from”, following a confrontation with Omar during his State of the Union address.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has faced attacks over his democratic socialist politics and criticism of Israel. Republican Representative Tom Emmer called him “Mamdani the commie”.
Yet when Trump met Mamdani in September 2026, he adopted a more conciliatory tone, saying: “Hopefully you’re going to be a great one.”
El-Sayed’s case differs because Republicans have specifically alleged Muslim Brotherhood membership, which he denies.
What Is At Stake For Trump And The Republicans?
The November 3 midterm elections will determine control of Congress for the remainder of Trump’s presidency. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber.
Michigan is a key battleground because El-Sayed is contesting the seat held by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. Reuters reported that the race was rated a toss-up, with El-Sayed holding an average lead of 2.6 percentage points at the time of its report. RealClearPolling’s average subsequently put his lead at 2 percentage points, based on polls conducted between September 24 and October 18.
A Democratic majority would give Democrats greater leverage over legislation, Senate committees and scrutiny of the Trump administration. A Republican majority would preserve the current alignment.
El-Sayed has focused on affordability, healthcare and campaign finance, while his campaign has argued that the attacks distract from the economic effects of Trump's policies.
The race will test whether the allegations weaken El-Sayed’s support among voters who backed Stevens or backfire as anti-Muslim attacks. The result could affect the balance of power in the Senate.
