Obama Launches Midterm Campaign in Detroit to Back El-Sayed

Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail on Saturday, standing on stage at Cass Technical High School in Detroit to endorse Abdul El-Sayed for the U.S. Senate. The rally took place on the first day of early voting in Michigan, a state that decides the 3 November general election. Thousands of attendees filled the school gymnasium as Obama spoke.

The former president framed El-Sayed as the heir to his own policy legacy. Obama said the nominee would finish the work started by the Affordable Care Act, promising affordable healthcare for all Americans. He described the race as a fight to remove money from politics and put it into voters' pockets. This marked Obama's first public endorsement of El-Sayed, a physician and former Wayne County health official.

Obama directed sharp criticism at President Donald Trump. He accused the White House of creating a culture where leaders take favors and enrich their families. Obama mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, suggesting the official spends too much time checking his appearance. He also targeted Trump's trade policies, noting that the administration is toughest on Canada, a close neighbor that provides the U.S. with maple syrup and cultural figures like Martin Short.

The Detroit stop was the second leg of a two-city campaign tour. Obama began the day in Cleveland, Ohio, where he supported Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton. In both cities, he delivered similar attacks on the current administration. The tour signals a more active role for the former president in the upcoming midterms.

Support for El-Sayed had been uncertain following the August primary. El-Sayed, a supporter of Medicare for All, previously called the Affordable Care Act an incremental fix. Obama acknowledged their differing views on policy details. He noted that even his wife, Michelle, does not agree with every decision he has made as president. El-Sayed has described Obama as a mentor since the primary.

El-Sayed faces a difficult path in Wayne County, where Detroit is located. In the August primary, his opponent Haley Stevens won the county with 51% of the vote to El-Sayed's 45%. The current race is closely contested. The Cook Political Report rates it a toss-up. A mid-October Marist poll shows El-Sayed at 50% and Republican challenger Mike Rogers at 48%. RealClearPolitics data places El-Sayed ahead by roughly 2.6 points.

Democrats have held the Michigan Senate seat for 25 years, but Republicans see a chance to flip it. Rogers, a former congressman, lost a 2024 Senate race by a small margin. Trump has attacked El-Sayed personally, calling him a jihadist and alleging ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denies those links. If elected, he would be the first Muslim and first Egyptian American in the Senate.

Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin spoke at the Detroit rally, calling Michigan a state that elects fighters. She said the party agrees on more than it disagrees. Trump is scheduled to rally in Port Huron on Sunday, marking his first visit to St. Clair County. If El-Sayed wins, he will join the Senate as a new voice, while his gubernatorial running mate Jocelyn Benson faces John James.