Fact check: Ads take El-Sayed out of context to claim he ‘disrespects women’

July 27, 2026

Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed faces attack advertisements claiming he has a pattern of disrespecting women, accusations funded by a pro-Israel PAC supporting his rival Haley Stevens in Michigan's August 4th primary. The ads cite El-Sayed's 2010 policy critique of Michelle Obama's anti-obesity program, his 2018 criticism of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's corporate fundraising, a workplace discrimination lawsuit that mentioned him tangentially, and complaints from a former staffer that didn't specifically allege gender-based misconduct. Independent analyses by Bridge Michigan and the Detroit Free Press found these examples appear rooted in policy disagreements rather than gender bias, though Stevens supporters point to separate comments where El-Sayed questioned Stevens' coherence and called her "a suit with a large AIPAC bank account.

Who is affected

Abdul El-Sayed (Democratic Senate candidate)
El-Sayed's 8-year-old daughter (being questioned by friends about the allegations)
El-Sayed's family
Haley Stevens (Democratic Senate opponent and target of El-Sayed's criticism)
Michigan Democratic primary voters
Michelle Obama (subject of 2010 critique)
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (subject of 2018 campaign criticism)
Mike Rogers (Republican who will face the primary winner in the general election)

What action is being taken

The United Democracy Project (AIPAC-affiliated PAC) is running attack ads and sending mailers against El-Sayed
The group has spent nearly $25 million on ads through Thursday touting Stevens or criticizing El-Sayed
Bridge Michigan is scrutinizing and fact-checking the claims made in the attack ads
El-Sayed is campaigning and responding to the attacks through media appearances and his campaign spokesperson

Why it matters

This race will determine who fills Michigan's open US Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Gary Peters, making it a consequential contest for Senate control. The campaign illustrates how outside money from single-issue groups can shape Democratic primaries through massive spending ($25 million), and raises questions about whether policy-based criticism of political figures who happen to be women constitutes gender-based disrespect. The controversy has real personal impacts, affecting El-Sayed's family life and his daughter's social experiences, while also forcing Michigan voters to evaluate whether the attack ads accurately represent his character or misrepresent policy disagreements as gender bias.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: bridgedetroit.com