Looks Like El-Sayed Is Blowing It With Black Voters. Obama to the Rescue?

The Abdul El-Sayed campaign, like all campaigns, is not sharing what its internal polling is telling the team, but if the campaign’s recent actions are any indication, El-Sayed is worried about the black vote.

My colleague Scott Pinsker and our fearless leader here at PJ Media, Chris Queen, have well documented the fact that hizzoner, the former president of the United States and number one in his own heart and mind, Barack Hussein Obama is jetting out to Michigan to help a fellow socialist out.

Scott believes that Obama’s making the trip for El-Sayed because he sees the Taylor Swift fan as representing the next generation of Democrats.

“We know Obama isn’t going there on a whim — because that’s not who he is,” Scott wrote. “Nothing he does is impromptu; everything about him is calculated. Clearly, this was something Obama had been considering for a while.”

I agree with Scott. Obama does know that if he wants to have any influence over this generation of Democrats and the rising Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), he’s got to play nice. But Obama is only one half of the equation. El-Sayed is the other half. What’s in it for him?

On the surface, El-Sayed can benefit from the endorsement of the only political heavyweight the party has right now. Obama can open a lot of doors for El-Sayed, but truth be told, Obama is not that kinda guy. He’s got a notorious reputation within the Democrat Party of not helping anyone other than himself.

El-Sayed strikes me as being cut from the same cloth. The one thing both El-Sayed and Obama can agree on, however, is that it’s not good for either of them if the Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, and Michigan is a must-win state for the Democrat Party.

A growing consensus is that what’s driving this Obama fly-by campaign stop is that El-Sayed isn’t doing too well specifically with black voters in Motown and throughout the state. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Leftist MS Now inadvertently exposed this vulnerability for the campaign.

Black Michiganders aren’t too supportive of Abdul El-Sayed: “Black people are Democrats, and he thinks we’re just gonna vote for him anyway. And I’m like, ‘No, sir, I’m uncommitted.’” https://t.co/OCggxM8ffB

— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) October 6, 2026

If you’re a Democrat running for Senate in Michigan, and you can’t turn out the black vote, you’re cooked. Everyone knows this. El-Sayed knows it; Obama knows it; heck, we all know it.

“It’s a risky bet to assume Black voters will come home out of natural physics,” Democrat strategist Jamal Simmons told The Hill in August right after El-Sayed defeated Haley Stevens in the Democrat primary race. Stevens had the black vote locked up.

“He needs to reach out to them directly and prioritize their issues over the political agenda he may prefer to discuss,” added Simmons. “It’s incumbent upon El-Sayed to do research and find out what the voters who supported Haley Stevens want and how he can help them get those things.”

One of the things black voters have not forgotten is that during the primary race, El-Sayed regularly attacked the Democrat establishment, much of which is dominated by black leadership.

The Washington Examiner looked at the same issues coming out of the primary race and reported that El-Sayed has had his work cut out for him in trying to convince black voters who came out for Stevens to come out once again in the fall for him.

My colleague Matt Margolis quoted CNN's favorite conservative, Scott Jennings, on the issue: "'He has significant trouble with African-American voters in the Democratic primary,' Jennings added about El-Sayed. 'He has not shored up that support in Michigan. They need Obama to try to do that. I'm not sure it's going to be the total answer, but it's not really a surprising development to me.'"

The Examiner pointed to a few failed attempts on El-Sayed's part to bridge the gap.

“He has seemingly yet to develop an answer to his problem. When asked how he would respond to black voters who do not support him, El-Sayed pointed to his own African identity rather than directly addressing why those voters might be skeptical of his candidacy,” reported the Examiner. “Irina Tsukerman, a political analyst and president of Scarab Rising, said the response was awkward because black Americans and African immigrants can have distinct political histories and experiences.”

Abdul El-Sayed responds to black voters who do not support him: “I am African.” https://t.co/3yVWaMDAng

— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) August 19, 2026

Here he is again trotting out that same cringeworthy talking point.

Abdul El-Sayed’s message to Black Voters: “I am also African.” https://t.co/jv17fzu0Qg

— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) September 15, 2026

The left-leaning HuffPost had this surprisingly honest take on El-Sayed’s prospects with black voters: 

But behind the rosy atmosphere of El-Sayed’s campaign events, where most attendees appear to have made up their minds about casting their votes in November, there lies an undercurrent of tension, particularly among Black voters in the Detroit area who, according to state political leaders, are still wary of the Democrat after largely backing Stevens in the primary. "I think there needs to be more solidarity with Black people," said Kimberly Fisher, a small business owner running to represent parts of Detroit and Warren in the Michigan legislature. "Detroit is the Blackest city in the country, and there’s been no engagement."

If Republican Mike Rogers’ campaign is reading the room the right way, now would be a good time to target this huge vulnerability for El-Sayed in a race that will likely be decided by a razor-thin margin. If Trump were running in this race, that’s exactly the sort of brazenness he would have demonstrated by now — the divide-and-conquer strategy. If Rogers can peel off a small fraction of the black vote, or if enough black voters are simply not motivated enough to cast a ballot at all, El-Sayed could be in trouble. I suspect that’s what his internal polling is already telling him.

That’s why I think when Obama comes to town, El-Sayed will meet him at the airport and roll out the red carpet.

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