Abdul El-Sayed

Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is an American epidemiologist, physician, and former public health official. He served as the director of the Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services of Wayne County, Michigan, from 2023 to 2025. He is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2026.

Party: Democrat
Office sought: U.S. Senate
State: MI
Current office: None

Incumbency status: challenger

Education: B.S., University of Michigan; M.A. and Ph.D., Oriel College, Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar); M.D., Columbia University.

Residence: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Professional background

Physician; epidemiologist; assistant professor of epidemiology, Columbia University; author; podcast host; commentator at CNN.

Public service

Health Officer and Executive Director, Detroit Health Department (2015–2017); Director, Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services, Wayne County, Michigan (2023–2025); served on the governor's statewide Childhood Lead Elimination Board; served on Michigan's Public Health Advisory Commission.

Military service

None

In this race

Related research

Issue positions

Healthcare (Policy): El-Sayed supports replacing private or employer-provided insurance with a government-run “Medicare for All” insurance program. The system aims to provide all Americans with one-size-fit-all universal coverage, making private insurance “redundant and unnecessary.” But the program comes at a cost. CBO projects a low-premium plan could induce some private insurers to leave and some employers to stop offering coverage. If Washington sets rates for health care near Medicare, clinics, doctor offices, and rural health care facilities would close. CRFB estimated that financing a roughly $30 trillion single-payer plan could require payroll taxes, income surtaxes, or mandatory premiums at levels that would hit middle-class households. A government-run system could also disrupt medical access. A 2019 Navigant Consulting study found that under a single payer system, lower reimbursement rates could put 55% of rural U.S. hospitals at risk of closure. Critics have called such a program “Medicare for none,” as Medicare as seniors know it today would come to an end. Benefits would change or get cut, private insurance would end, and options would disappear. El-Sayed also wants to expand government negotiation of prescription drug prices to cover all drugs and patients, and supports government manufacture of certain medications, including insulin. He supports the Break Up Big Medicine Act, which would give the federal government increased power via the Federal Trade Commission to break up private businesses. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: El-Sayed supports more government control in health care. He claims it would expand access to care, while experts say it would lead to rationed medical care, higher taxes, and an end to custom plans and coverage."
Taxes (Policy): El-Sayed opposes the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which permanently lengthens the 2017 individual income tax cuts. If El-sayed had his way, the increased standard deduction would be gone, and there would be no higher Child Tax Credit. El-Sayed opposed the no tax on tips and overtime as well. He has also called for repealing the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidy reductions included in that legislation, thus making life more expensive In place of those provisions, El-Sayed's platform calls for several tax increases targeted at higher earners and wealth accumulation: Raising the marginal income tax rate Imposing a wealth tax on assets exceeding $1 billion Taxing capital gains over $1 million at the same rate as ordinary income Taxing inheritances over $1 million at ordinary income rates Imposing a progressive tax on wealth held in trusts Eliminating the stepped-up basis loophole Removing the cap on Social Security payroll taxes Removing the Social Security payroll tax cap would expose all wage income above $184,500 (the 2026 cap) to the 12.4% OASDI payroll tax, split between employer and employee and would mean a significant tax increase for higher-earning professionals and small business owners. However, since Social Security benefits are calculated as a percentage of lifetime contributions, high earners would also receive substantially larger benefit payouts — meaning the policy could represent both a significant tax increase and a significant benefit windfall for higher-earning professionals and small business owners. Additionally, wealth taxes like the one El-Sayed proposes have been criticized by economic analysts for raising relatively little revenue while creating high administrative costs and damaging economic growth and investment. These tax increases disproportionately target small business owners, farmers, and seniors. El-Sayed also supports a federal income tax exemption on the first $50,000 of earnings. During his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, he backed an earnings-based personal income tax increase that would have added progressive rates up to 3.75% on top of Michigan’s existing flat rate, along with new gross receipts taxes on businesses. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: El-Sayed supports higher taxes. From his opposition to the 2025 tax cuts to his plan for raising taxes on farmers, seniors, and small business owners, El-Sayed supports more taxes to pay for more government programs."
Environment & Energy (Policy): El-Sayed has supported the Green New Deal, framing it in an April 2019 op-ed as a “Public Health New Deal” that would combat climate change and assist low-income communities. The Green New Deal is a far-reaching policy framework that proposes transitioning the U.S. economy to entirely low-carbon and zero-emission energy sources within 10 years, overhauling the transportation system to replace fossil fuels, and retrofitting existing buildings for energy efficiency. The American Action Forum estimated that the full scope of the Green New Deal could cost up to $93 trillion, or approximately $600,000 per U.S. household. The group estimated transitioning the electricity grid alone to require $5.4 trillion in capital investment, while achieving a net-zero emissions transportation system was estimated to cost between $1.3 trillion and $2.7 trillion. El-Sayed’s platform calls for a transition to 100% renewable energy, with a goal to shift Michigan by 2030. He has suggested that the United States should be freed entirely from oil and gas dependence and has criticized gas-powered vehicles. From 2019 to 2021, he served on the board of the Sunrise Movement, an organization that backed a plan to require all new cars sold in the U.S. to be fully electric by 2030 and to eliminate gas-powered vehicles from roads by 2040. The push for a rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) has raised concerns regarding Michigan’s auto industry. The America First Policy Institute estimated that a mandate requiring EV sales to reach two-thirds of the market would eliminate 117,000 net auto-manufacturing jobs, as electric vehicles require significantly fewer parts and less labor to assemble than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. In addition to the job losses, consumers would be expected to pay more for new and used vehicles to meet new federal government requirements. He supports closing the Line 5 oil pipeline, which runs through the Straits of Mackinac. His platform supports a federal mandate requiring a minimum of 50 gallons of clean water per person per day per household, with water bills capped at 2% of household income and restrictions on water service shutoffs for low-income households. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: El-Sayed proudly stands with climate groups pushing a transformation of the American economy. While he claims swift action is needed to revolutionize the economy, taxpayers would be on the hook for higher taxes, higher energy costs, and increased costs of daily goods. El-Sayed says the trade off is necessary to pay for his green agenda."
Immigration (Policy): El-Sayed supports abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), stating that the agency “cannot be reformed or retrained” and has referred to it as a “paramilitary organization on peaceful streets.” He supports redirecting ICE funding toward immigration court infrastructure to create a pathway to citizenship for people currently in the immigration system. El-Sayed has traveled out of Michigan to protest detention centers holding violent criminals, urging the government to release these individuals back into American communities. El-Sayed supports a “safe and secure southern border” but only “certain kinds” of border law enforcement and immigration enforcement. El-Sayed served on the 2020 Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force for Healthcare, which recommended expanding access to government healthcare programs for immigrant populations. The task force recommendations included allowing undocumented immigrants to purchase unsubsidized plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace and lifting the five-year waiting period for lawfully present immigrants to become eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: El-Sayed supports taxpayer-funded health care for those in the United States without documentation, and supports an end to law enforcement tasked with keeping drug dealers, sex offenders, and violent criminals off the streets. El-Sayed has also opposed efforts to secure the southern border, while seeking to allow more individuals into the United States."
Public Safety (Policy): In June 2020, El-Sayed advocated for defunding the police and reallocating police department funds toward public services that address poverty and racism. His policy platform has also included creating a Michigan Commission of Law Enforcement Standards to revise hiring and training practices, requiring implicit-bias and de-escalation training for the Michigan State Police, and instituting targeted recruitment programs to diversify police forces. In a now-deleted tweet, El-Sayed complained that public schools, health departments, housing, and recreation services in U.S. cities received too little funding and police departments received too much. El-Sayed demonized law enforcement officers in another now-deleted post, calling them “standing armies we deploy against our own people.” During his gubernatorial campaign, El-Sayed campaigned for ending cash bail “in favor of a robust ‘release and remind’ system.” His proposed system would involve text reminders to reduce failure to appear in court. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Critics of El-Sayed point to his own words to suggest his soft on crime and wants to allow violent criminals back on the streets."
Economy & Labor (Policy): El-Sayed supports the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and has stated that union expansion is necessary to address the growth of artificial intelligence in the workforce. His platform supports the use of targeted tariffs on certain industries, with stated benchmarks and sunset provisions. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: El-Sayed supports more government involvement in the labor market, regardless of its cost to consumers."
Democracy & Campaign Finance (Policy): El-Sayed supports legislation to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and to ban political spending by 501(c)(4) organizations, Super PACs, and 527 groups. He supports public financing of elections and campaign spending caps. In 2018, El-Sayed founded Southpaw MI PAC as a way to support progressive Michigan candidates. In June 2026, the Fighting for Michigan PAC, a Super PAC managed by the budget director of Bernie Sanders’ campaign, promised to fund a “multimillion-dollar independent expenditure campaign” supporting El-Sayed. $200,000 of the group’s $468,000 raised so far has come from El-Sayed’s father-in-law. El-Sayed labels himself as the only Michigan Senate candidate who “has never taken a dime of corporate money.” El-Sayed’s campaign, however, has been endorsed by several groups funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and has served as a board member for the Roosevelt Institute, a group funded by Open Society Foundations. El-Sayed has also received thousands of dollars from individuals affiliated with the Council on American-Islamic relations — a designated foreign terrorist organization in Florida and Texas. El-Sayed supports abolishing the Senate filibuster. He supports Supreme Court reforms including ending lifetime tenure for justices and imposing term limits. He supports automatic voter registration at age 18, designating Election Day as a federal holiday, and universal no-excuse absentee and early in-person voting. He opposes mandatory voter identification requirements. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: Despite calls for an end to money in politics, El-Sayed has benefited greatly from “dark money” and Super PACs."
Foreign Policy (Policy): El-Sayed has called Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza a “genocide” and has called for an immediate ceasefire. He has called the Israeli government “just as evil” as Hamas and says he “absolutely” considers Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be a war criminal. He has spoken out against U.S. military aid to foreign nations but supports U.S. aid for Ukraine. He has dissented to U.S. military engagement with Iran but supports diplomatic approaches to preventing Iranian nuclear development. — "𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: El-Sayed’s foreign policy comments are laser-focused on Israel as he speaks regularly about his concerns about the Jewish community."
Sources (Reference): ◆ Healthcare • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Medicare for All: The Path to a Healthier America • Congressional Budget Office — Economic Effects of Five Illustrative Single-Payer Health-Care Systems • Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — Choices for Financing Medicare for All • Navigant — Potential Effects of a Public Option on Rural Hospitals  ◆ Taxes • Tax Foundation — Tax Changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Money in Your Pocket • Social Security Administration — Contribution and Benefit Base • Tax Foundation — Economic Effects of Wealth Taxes • ClickOnDetroit — Abdul El-Sayed’s 2018 Michigan Policy Agenda  ◆ Environment & Energy • The Guardian — The Green New Deal as a Public Health New Deal • American Action Forum — The Green New Deal: Scope, Scale, and Implications • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Climate and Energy Policy • Sunrise Movement — Organization and Policy Platform • America First Policy Institute — Estimated Employment Effects of an EV Mandate  ◆ Immigration • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Immigration and ICE Policy • Abdul El-Sayed — Public Statement on Immigration Enforcement • Abdul El-Sayed — Public Statement on Detention Policy  ◆ Public Safety • WDET — Abdul El-Sayed on Policing and Public Health • Internet Archive — June 2020 El-Sayed Statement on Police Funding • Internet Archive — June 2020 El-Sayed Statement on Law Enforcement • Internet Archive — El-Sayed Criminal Justice Policy  ◆ Economy & Labor • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Money in Your Pocket  ◆ Democracy & Campaign Finance • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Money Out of Politics • Southpaw MI — Political Action Committee Profile • WLNS — Dark-Money Impact in the Michigan Primary • Abdul El-Sayed Campaign — Endorsements • Open Society Foundations — Organization Profile • LinkedIn — Abdul El-Sayed Professional Profile • Federal Election Commission — Individual Contribution Records • Abdul El-Sayed — Public Statement on Campaign Finance  ◆ Foreign Policy • The Algemeiner — Coverage of El-Sayed’s Israel Position • Fox News — Coverage of El-Sayed’s Israel and Hamas Remarks