Republicans Promise To Make Abdul El-Sayed the Poster Boy for His Party’s Leftward Swing

Shortly after three socialist Democrats won congressional primaries in New York City, Republican campaigns were quick to make those soon-to-be lawmakers the face of the Democratic Party. Now, with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s win in the Michigan Senate Democratic primary, he is poised to become the new face of GOP attacks amid the Democrats’ letward swing this year. As of Wednesday, four sitting House Democrats have lost their primaries to insurgent, left-wing non-incumbents. All four lost to challengers who either are currently or were once members of the Democratic Socialists of America. The last time four sitting House Democrats lost to challengers who were not themselves sitting lawmakers is the highest number to lose since 2002. Those victories do not even include the wins for DSA members and other left-wing candidates in open seats. Philadelphia is due to be represented by a socialist come November. Left-wing candidates have a shot at taking multiple congressional seats in California in the general election. Just on Tuesday, Democrats in a Republican-held swing district decided to nominate a DSA member over a retired Navy SEAL and a former American ambassador to Ukraine. Taken together, the House Democratic Caucus is set to be more left-wing than it has been in history. Dr. El-Sayed, one of the few progressives nominated for a statewide race in a Trump-won state, could be sunk by his association with those other DSA and DSA-aligned candidates, Republicans believe. Dr. El-Sayed is set to face off against a Republican former lawmaker, Congressman Mike Rogers, in the fall. Mr. Rogers’ narrow loss to Senator Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 Senate race year was a disappointing one for the GOP, with many believing that his record as an FBI agent, a congressman, and former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee made him a good match against the then-congresswoman who had spent her career prior to elected office as a national security official. This year, Mr. Rogers has made clear that he plans to lean in again to that national security experience — while also tying Dr. El-Sayed to his most left-wing backers.“I spent my life hunting terrorists. I never in a million years thought I’d hear the words, ‘America deserved 9/11,’ but here we are,” Mr. Rogers wrote on X, referencing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker who once said America deserved the September 11 attacks. Mr. Piker endorsed and campaigned with Dr. El-Sayed during the primary. Another ad from Mr. Rogers includes videos of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley saying in 2020 that there had to be “unrest in the streets” during the Black Lives Matter protests, Mayor Zohran Mamdani saying he wants to see ICE abolished, and Mr. Piker saying on a stream that the streets should “soak” with the blood of “capitalists.” All of those individuals endorsed Dr. El-Sayed in the primary. That ad concludes with a video of Dr. El-Sayed standing alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — two other supporters — with the caption: “You are who your friends are.”Speaker Mike Johnson and the Senate GOP campaign team have leaned into what they are calling an anti-communist message. It’s no longer Republican vs. Democrat. It’s not even common sense vs. crazy,” Mr. Johnson wrote in a post on X Wednesday morning. “It’s America-loving vs. America-hating COMMUNISTS, and today’s Democrat Party has shown us who they really are.” “An alliance of communists and Islamists is taking control of the Democrat party,” the Senate Republican Conference wrote on X. Dr. El-Sayed himself has said his race is about much more than Michigan — it’s about building a left-wing coalition nationally. He sees himself as a future “kingmaker” for the party across the nation, especially now that Michigan is poised to be one of the first presidential primary states for Democrats in 2028.Speaking to donors on a call last month about how he can build power for the left flank of the Democratic Party, Dr. El-Sayed said he plans to go after fellow Democrats if he deems it necessary. He mentioned Senator John Fetterman, calling him an “ogre” who must be defeated in 2028. “If I win … well y’all came at me so now I get to come at you, and you know, primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that,” Dr. El-Sayed declared on the call, which was first reported by Politico. “Ideally you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different.”

Republicans Promise To Make Abdul El-Sayed the Poster Boy for His Party’s Leftward Swing

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