New El-Sayed Ad Features Fox News Hosts Complimenting Him: ‘You Gotta Respect Abdul’

Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed released a new ad this week featuring clips of Fox News hosts and conservative commentators singing his praises.

El-Sayed is facing off against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) in one of the most closely watched races during this midterm election cycle. Polls have shown El-Sayed ahead by single digits, but within the margin of error; the current Real Clear Politics Polling Average has him up 1.9 points. Michigan is a swing state, having voted for President Donald Trump by 0.23% in 2016, Joe Biden by 2.8% in 2020, and Trump by 1.4% in 2024.

Semafor’s Dave Weigel reported on El-Sayed’s new “Michigan First” ad on Friday, calling it “head-turning” and a “unique approach” to use conservative voices to share his message.

According to Weigel’s report, El-Sayed’s campaign is putting a six-figure buy to air the ad on television.

El-Sayed is more progressive than his vanquished Democratic primary opponents, and seeks to tap into populist issues in this ad. In the video, he introduces himself and lists several issues where he and MAGA voters might find common ground.

“We agree on a lot,” he says as his outreach to voters across the aisle, bashing the “DC elites” for spending millions of dollars to attack him, calling for the release of the Epstein files and to “stop wasting our tax dollars on overseas wars,” and declaring that “free speech is under attack, and we should be making America healthy again.”

“Don’t want to take my word for it? How about some folks you know a little bit better?” he says as he turns to a television set behind him and a montage of clips from various television and podcast programs is shown, complimenting him and taking swipes at Rogers, his Republican opponent.

“You gotta respect Abdul because he beat the machine,” said Fox News host of The Five, Jesse Watters.

“He’s a good-looking guy,” said Lara Trump on Fox News’ Outnumbered. “He’s a great speaker.”

“I wouldn’t vote for Mike Rogers at gunpoint,” said former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

In a clip from her podcast, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) points out how Democrats “spent a skyrocketing $65 million to defeat him” in the primary.

“This guy is a force that Mike Rogers is gonna have to deal with,” said Watters in another clip.

“I approve this message,” El-Sayed reads the legally required disclaimer at the end of the ad. “Because for me, it’s Michigan First, and we can agree on that.”

El-Sayed is far from the only Democrat to find positive aspects to Fox News. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) make frequent appearances on the network, as does former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Watch the video above via YouTube.

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