Senate Republicans are making a last-ditch push to save former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., in the Michigan Senate race, pouring money and effort into highlighting what they describe as significant ties between Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed strongly denies having any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group viewed as an influential predecessor to some prominent fundamentalist Islamic groups. Congress has investigated the group as a potential global threat.
Republicans, however, have unearthed past statements from El-Sayed that they say show sympathy for the movement, which briefly took power in Egypt in 2012 and 2013.
In a January 2011 HuffPost essay, El-Sayed argued that a Muslim Brotherhood takeover in Egypt after the fall of Hosni Mubarak would not be as bad as some critics feared, and he dismissed comparisons to Hamas’s leadership in Gaza.
Republicans also point to a 2012 statement El-Sayed signed after Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi came to power, urging him “to purge the media and police as quickly as possible.” His support for that letter was first reported last month by The Washington Free Beacon.
El-Sayed has also been forced to address years-old social media posts from his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, claiming their family has long had ties to the group. In 2012, she wrote about a conversation with her mother regarding her mother’s activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during college in the early 1970s. Her mother, Fatten Elkomy, is El-Sayed’s biological mother. El-Sayed’s parents divorced when he was 3, and he was raised by his father and stepmother outside Detroit.
Rogers confronted El-Sayed at their second debate Wednesday evening.
“Are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers demanded.
El-Sayed responded by declaring “I love this country” and “I love the Constitution.”
President Trump has said El-Sayed is “100 percent” affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has questioned whether El-Sayed should have access to sensitive national security information if elected. Cruz told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday that there would be “an unacceptably high risk” to American servicemembers and intelligence assets.
El-Sayed disavowed any loyalty to the Muslim Brotherhood at a town hall over the weekend and later told Newsmax he had “clearly disavowed” the group.
“The implication of the question is that somehow I have dual loyalties, right? And there’s nothing about my history or record to imply that,” El-Sayed said.
Two Republican super PACs, Great Lakes Conservative Fund and Senate Leadership Fund, appear to be spending millions on ads tying El-Sayed to the group, according to a Senate GOP strategist.
“I think it’s affecting the race. I think it’s hurting El-Sayed,” the strategist said.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is also leaning in, with regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell saying El-Sayed “has serious questions to answer.”
Some political experts remain skeptical. John Clark, a political science professor at Western Michigan University, said he has yet to see credible evidence of the direct ties Republicans claim, but suggested the attacks could still make an impact with some voters.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
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