Something VERY, VERY Weird Is Going on With Abdul El-Sayed’s Campaign Strategy

Politics is complicated: There are (hotly disputed) economic theories, pragmatic realities, domestic concerns, partisan gamesmanship, horse-trading, and international entanglements. A wise politician strikes a delicate balance between these competing interests. (As well as many others.)

But PR is straightforward: It’s all just tactics.

And at a certain level, pretty much everyone in the PR biz knows the same tricks of the trade. (Which is why I don’t think there’s such a thing as the “best” PR pro: Once you reach a baseline of expertise, it’s mostly a stylistic choice.)

Hey, I’ve done PR for FinTech, cybersecurity, pro poker, mixed martial arts, liquor brands, law firms, sports franchises, entertainment venues, gaming sites, mortuaries, films, athletes, Major League Baseball Alumni Association, singers, comedians, politicians, and more. Y’know what they all had in common?

PR tactics. 

You learn the brand’s business model — and then you supercharge it with the appropriate PR tactics. Mix, match, and follow the metrics.

That’s all PR really is.

This means that once you reverse-engineer a brand’s PR tactics, you unmask its strategy, goals, concerns… and hidden weaknesses.

Take Abdul El-Sayed, the far-left Democrat running for Michigan’s Senate seat. If you noticed, he’s gone out of his way to highlight his status as the ex-captain of his high school football team.

He’s mentioned it on his official campaign website. He’s posted about it on Instagram. He’s used it to attack his opponent, Republican Mike Rogers:

Hey @MikeRogersForMI - clearly your teammates didn’t vote you captain. If they did, you would have said it in the ad. Probably had that beta energy back then, too.

I *was* captain. Football. Wrestling. Lacrosse.

(Thanks for repping my school, tho 😉) https://t.co/5IxocdmsuQ

— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 29, 2026

So let’s reverse-engineer El-Sayed’s PR tactic: Why on earth would a 41-year-old Senate candidate make such a big frickin’ deal about being a high school sports captain?

Because it fulfills three important PR objectives:

And we know this because his campaign has used his high school “captain” status to explicitly refute those allegations:

El-Sayed’s campaign said the old clips do not reflect his current views: “Abdul is the former captain of his high school football team, loves Michigan football on Saturdays, and celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander. Cherry-picked comments from…

— Andrew Kaczynski (@KFILE) August 11, 2026

But here’s where things get strange: By a yuuuuge, Pritzker-sized margin, the smarter way to accomplish his three PR objectives isn’t by talking about being captain of his football team — or by posting photos of him standing by himself in a football uniform. Nor would it be by airing a campaign ad of him throwing a football to unknown randos.

It’d be by showing El-Sayed flanked by his high school teammates — the same ones who voted him captain — and promoting their glowing testimonials.

Ideally, you’d want a white teammate, a black teammate, and a Jewish teammate. (Muslims/Arabs wouldn’t have as much PR currency in “normalizing” El-Sayed to Michigan’s masses, I’m afraid.) Done right, it’s PR gold.

You’d put his (diverse) teammates in ads. You’d bring ‘em out on the campaign trail. You’d have ‘em look the camera dead in the eye — and speak directly to undecideds about how trustworthy, reliable, and courageous El-Sayed is.

That’s how you build a brand in PR.

This ain’t complicated, folks. It’s PR 101: Second- and third-party testimonials are more persuasive than first-person advocacy. 

If I tell you how great I am, you’ll take it with a grain of salt — but if the people you know and trust tell you I’m great, you’re far more likely to believe it.

And then it becomes my brand identity.

Few PR concepts are simpler:

"He's a GREAT lover." #Branding #Marketing #PR #Advertising #SEO #Design #SocialMedia #Omaha https://t.co/fzx9not3Mi pic.twitter.com/6gIeJJFCLP

— little guy branding (@lgx_branding) June 27, 2016

El-Sayed has professional marketers, PR pros, and campaign advisers. Trust me: I’m not revealing anything that they don’t already know, because this is basic, rookie-level stuff.

So WHY isn’t El-Sayed’s campaign doing what’s so absurdly obvious?

My theory: The overwhelming majority of El-Sayed’s ex-teammates are voting for Mike Rogers.

In my experience, when brands don’t do what’s absurdly obvious, it’s (usually) not because the executives were all stupid. Or because no one else was bright enough to recognize an opportunity that’s so straightforward, even a blind man could see it miles away.

It’s (usually) because insiders know something that the outsiders don’t.

These people, after all, think about their brands 24/7. They have a vested interest in it succeeding. They stay up late at night, worrying about EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong. They have access to info that no one else has.

Furthermore, they know their business model forwards and backward — including its strengths, weaknesses, and biggest vulnerabilities. It’s their passion, purpose, and professional priority.

By not using them, El-Sayed seems to view his ex-teammates as a vulnerability.

But why? 

Is it because nobody on his team supports him?

I don’t think so. High school football rosters are huge: Smaller football programs might have 20-30 players; larger programs might have 80+. It defies comprehension that NONE of El-Sayed’s ex-teammates are supporting his Senate campaign.

Presumably, if El-Sayed’s campaign really wanted to, they could find SOMEONE — a backup kicker or a third-string fullback — to vouch for him.

So I don’t think it’s because nobody is supporting him. Instead, I strongly suspect it’s because his support is limited to Arab/Muslim ex-teammates, and not the white/black/Jewish ex-teammates that El-Sayed needs on the campaign trail.

According to Gemini, his old school, Bloomfield Hills Andover High School, wasn’t majority Muslim:

No, Bloomfield Hills Andover High School was not a Muslim-majority school.

Historically, the school's student body was predominantly white, with a diverse mix of religious backgrounds that notably included large Jewish, Christian, and Muslim student populations.

Additionally, the school no longer exists. In 2013, Andover High School merged with Lahser High School to form the unified Bloomfield Hills High School. Contemporary data shows that minority enrollment at the merged high school is around 26%, meaning the majority of the student body remains white.

This misconception may stem from the school's location in metro Detroit—a region known for having one of the largest Arabic and Muslim populations in the United States—or because high-profile Muslim figures, such as Michigan politician Abdul El-Sayed, are notable alumni of Andover High School.

(I briefly wondered if El-Sayed’s reluctance to enlist his teammates was based on an optics problem: He played center in high school, so perhaps the image of him, ahem, “bent over” was problematic for certain members of his base — or his flailing attempt at Alpha male branding. But hey, another Michigan man played center and went pretty gosh-durn far in politics, so I doubt it’s that.)

Honestly? Campaigning with ex-teammates isn’t a newfangled PR strategy. Jack Kemp did it in 1996 when he was Bob Dole’s running mate. Lynn Swann campaigned with Hall of Fame ex-teammate Mel Blount. In 2000, Ben Bradley campaigned for president with ex-New York Knicks teammate Walt Frazier. In 2008, Sarah Palin’s ex-basketball coach lauded her to the media. And in primetime at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) was introduced by his ex-high school football players.

It stands to reason that El-Sayed would do the exact same thing — unless he had a really good reason not to.

This is why the “next steps” for the Mike Rogers campaign are absurdly obvious, too:

If a majority of El-Sayed’s ex-teammates refuse to support him, you’ve got yourself a hot news story, a new line of attack, and (potentially) a viral campaign ad.

And just as importantly, you’ve obliterated one of his key PR talking points. 

Hasan Piker became an issue in Michigan’s Senate race because Abdul El-Sayed invited him into the state, campaigned with him, and raised money with him. Which is why he can’t dismiss Piker as merely a Twitch streamer in California: You can’t campaign with someone when it’s convenient — and then pretend it’s a nonissue when there’s blowback.

It’s also why El-Sayed’s high school “captain” status matters: He made it central to his brand identity. 

He’s using it to achieve his PR objectives. It’s how he’s building his brand, negating bad publicity (i.e. his old X posts), and trying to connect with voters.

This makes it fair game for a Republican rebuttal.

By not doing what’s so absurdly obvious, El-Sayed has — inadvertently — exposed a glaring political vulnerability. His jugular is quivering before us.

The GOP should pounce.

One Last Thing: 2026 will reach a crescendo with the midterm elections. Nothing less than the future of our country teeters in the balance.

Never before have the political battle lines been so clearly defined. Blue wave or red wall, one way or another, the 2026 midterms will transform our country.

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