It’s hard to pack a barn full of people in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but Abdul El-Sayed made a run at it.

More than 500 people showed up to support the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate at the U.P. State Fairgrounds in Escanaba. It was the first stop on a three-event day that culminated in a 1,200 person rally in Marquette that evening.

El-Sayed has spent the better part of a year in barns, union halls, and kitchens in towns big and small across the state.

The goal is to pick up some support among independents and disenchanted conservative voters.

El-Sayed spent some time in the barn urging his followers to forgive their family and friends who voted for President Donald Trump, and instead look to the future.

“We’ve got to be willing to invite them to a decision they have yet to make,” El-Sayed said. “We have an opportunity to build our country, not just watch it get torn down.”

That’s a tall order. Sixty percent of U.P residents – Yoopers – voted for President Trump in 2024.

Rallygoer Andre Brown says he’s already started having those conversations and has noticed some changes.

“Back when Biden was president, it was like, ‘Oh, this is all Joe Biden and the gas prices,’ but they’re pretty quiet right now. They just complain about it,” Brown said.

Bart Stupak was the last Democrat to Represent the U.P. in the U.S. House, choosing not to run for reelection in 2010. He endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Democratic primary, but believes El-Sayed’s messaging can resonate with Yoopers.

“Just showing up helps him tremendously to try to connect with not just Democrats but all the voters, even those Republicans who are disenchanted with the party right now,” Stupak said.

That face time is important.

Yoopers have a healthy skepticism for outsiders according to Republican State Representative Karl Bohnak.

He’s well known here. Before entering politics, Bohnak was a meteorologist on WLUC-TV for about 30 years.

Bohnak has already made up his mind about the U.S. Senate race. He’s backing Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers.

“I don’t pay much attention to Abdul. I don’t even really know what his message is,” Bohnak said. “I think he wants something like Medicare for all, but the only question I would have is who’s going to pay for that? Plain and simple.”

Healthcare is an issue in the Upper Peninsula though, with many having to drive 100 miles or more to see a specialist or give birth.

Data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that nearly 1-in-3 U.P. residents are enrolled in Medicare, with 7% without insurance altogether.

Bohnak says people in the U.P. don’t like extremism in their politics and energy policy looms large.

“The Democrat Party has gone way left, and I think that has made an opening for someone who’s a centrist like myself, who wants again reliable, affordable energy, who is talking about the bread-and-butter issues like jobs,” Bohnak said.

El-Sayed agrees to an extent and this trip to the U.P., as well as another last June, helped shape his perception.

“Yoopers are common sense, thoughtful people, and they don’t like paying more in gas than they need to. Don’t like paying more in groceries and they don’t like being taken advantage of by a billionaire from New York,” El-Sayed said.

Again, that notion of an infiltrating outsider with El-Sayed referring to President Donald Trump there. El-Sayed is Michigan born and raised.

That hasn’t stopped attack ads alleging – without evidence – that El-Sayed has ties to terrorism. They’ve been running since before the primary election.

“I think some of these commercials are thrown up there by these third parties are unbelievable to the point where I say that can’t be true. So it makes you do your research,” said New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

She accompanied El-Sayed on the U.P. tour and told rally goers it’s just another way to distract voters from the issues.

“They want to make this man look very big and scary on television, because what they think and what they’re betting on is that if they can make you scared of him, then that means you won’t listen to him,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Still, those ads have an impact even with people who are skeptical of them.

Stupak’s electoral success came in-part because he was a former state trooper and one of the last pro-gun, anti-abortion Democrats to be elected.

“The problem with El Sayed is he said things like ‘defund the police’…which really get the ordinary Northern Michigan voter more than concerned,” Stupak said.

El-Sayed told WDET-FM in 2020 that he approved of defunding the police in the sense of eliminating the reasons why people turn to crime and getting rid of police killings. The comments came in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Stupak isn’t going to vote for Republican Mike Rogers, but he’s not entirely sure about his vote for El-Sayed.

“I would have voted by now, but I just want to see how this plays out a little bit more,” Stupak said. “Yeah, I’m a Democrat, but that doesn’t mean I vote for every Democrat that shows up on the ticket.”

This story was originally published by Michigan Public Radio. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate at an event in Detroit.

“His will be a voice. Abdul’s. That is a voice representing the people of this state, and it will be a national voice,” she said.

When she ran for president two years ago, Harris struggled to win over Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel. Many voted for President Trump, while some backed minor party candidates.

At a news conference with Harris, El-Sayed addressed those voters. “I think if a lot of us could have had that back, had 2024 back, we would have thought about things in different ways. And I hope that moving forward, we don’t reinforce the mistakes of the past that break us apart and start thinking about where do we go in the future.”

El-Sayed supported the Uncommitted Movement in the Democratic presidential primary in 2024. He later endorsed Harris.

Additional headlines for Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026

Leaders in Jewish, Democrat want El-Sayed to answer concerns

Jewish and Democratic Party leaders urged Abdul El-Sayed to address their concerns about his criticism of Israel.

Cantor Regina Hyatt says this political season’s rhetoric is leaving her feeling alienated and politically homeless. And she says many in Michigan’s Jewish community feel the same. Many of them said that they would just sit out the election, or at least that line on the election.

El-Sayed has defended his criticism of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and of U.S. arms sales to Israel. He has also said he loves the Jewish community and cares about their safety.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, has also raised concerns about El-sayed’s stance but is endorsing him. Michigan voters will decide this fall whether to call a constitutional convention in Lansing next year.

Constitutional question

The question of whether or not to change Michigan’s constitution has appeared on the ballot every 16 years since 1978. Each time, voters have rejected it. If voters say yes this time, another election would take place in the spring to choose delegates who would meet in Lansing next fall.

The Constitutional Convention question will appear as Proposal 1 on this year’s ballot.

Reparations Generation house meeting

Reparation Generation’s September virtual house meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 29. Lottie Lee Abdullah from Reparations for Slavery will guide a discussion around housing and the racial wealth gap.

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