As polling data pointed to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed taking the lead over his primary rival, a political advertisement emerged attempting to tie him to Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.
“With our democracy on the line against Donald Trump in 2024, El-Sayed told Democrats to vote uncommitted —- even after Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer warned those efforts would help elect Donald Trump,” a narrator states in the United Democracy Project-funded spot released on YouTube.
The United Democracy Project, a super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has poured nearly $25 million into backing El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens.
The winner of the Democratic primary is slated to compete against Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who ran unopposed in his primary, during the November general election. The Senate seat became open after Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced in January that he would forego a third term.
While El-Sayed indeed encouraged Democrats to cast “uncommitted” ballots during Michigan’s February presidential primary, the super PAC’s commercial fails to mention that he quickly shifted gears to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris following Joe Biden’s departure from the race in July.
The “uncommitted” push gained significant traction in 2024 among Democrats dismayed by the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Available in only select state primaries, voting uncommitted allows participants to decline all named candidates, serving as a protest mechanism to register discontent with party leadership.
Although analysts note the protest strategy successfully fueled internal party debate, its actual contribution to Harris’s general election defeat remains debatable. El-Sayed’s campaign declined to comment.
A Clash Between the Establishment and the Progressive Wing
El-Sayed, 41, is an epidemiologist and former health official whose platform champions Medicare for All and the removal of corporate donations from the political system.
Backed by prominent progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, El-Sayed aligns with progressive stances on immigration, taxing billionaires, and cutting military assistance to Israel. Though he has received backing from the Democratic Socialists of America, he has clarified that he is not a member.
Stevens, 43, brings seven years of congressional experience and over a decade in federal politics to the race. Her campaign focuses on her legislative track record and boosting American manufacturing. She has earned endorsements from top Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, and Gov. Whitmer.
Throughout the contest, El-Sayed has spotlighted AIPAC’s heavy financial investment in Stevens. Federal Election Commission filings show AIPAC-backed spending topped $35 million on Stevens’ behalf—marking a record-breaking expenditure for a single primary. The influx highlights deep party divisions over U.S. military aid to Israel, a particularly potent issue in Michigan, which hosts the nation’s largest Arab American community.
El-Sayed’s Role in the ‘Uncommitted’ Push
Weeks before Michigan’s February primary, Whitmer cautioned voters participating in the uncommitted movement to consider the ramifications of a second Trump administration.
Acknowledging voter frustrations, she warned that Trump’s return could spell severe challenges for communities already suffering from overseas conflicts.
Shortly after, El-Sayed announced via a social media post that he would be casting an uncommitted ballot in protest.
While describing Trump as an “existential threat,” El-Sayed argued the protest vote was necessary to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and signal that Biden’s campaign could not take Arab and progressive votes for granted.
Biden ultimately won the state’s primary with 81% of the vote, but roughly 100,000 voters—13.2% of the total—chose uncommitted. In Dearborn, where over half the population is of Middle Eastern descent, Biden lost the primary to uncommitted ballots, a stark departure from his dominant 2020 performance there.
When asked for the basis of its claims, the United Democracy Project pointed to El-Sayed’s social media posts celebrating the uncommitted milestone as leverage for a cease-fire ahead of the November election.
Swift Endorsement of Harris Following Biden’s Exit
Just one day after Biden announced the end of his reelection campaign and threw his support behind Harris, El-Sayed endorsed Harris as well.
“Considering the dangers of the Republican nominee & potential of her leadership, it’s time for all of us to unite behind @KamalaHarris to defeat Trump,” he posted.
He later voiced hope that Harris might shift U.S. policy regarding Gaza, noting instances where she distanced herself from specific administration moves and engaged directly with Palestinian-American advocates.
Impact of the Uncommitted Movement on the General Election
Trump ultimately secured the presidency, sweeping all major swing states, including Michigan, where he defeated Harris by roughly 80,000 votes.
Though uncommitted ballots captured high percentages in areas like Dearborn, data shows that even if every single uncommitted voter in those regions had backed Harris, it would not have altered the statewide outcome.
Election analysts, including Miles Coleman of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, argue that the uncommitted movement was not a primary driver of Harris’s defeat. Instead, exit polls and major analyses point to voter anxiety over the economy, high Republican turnout, and Harris’s abbreviated campaign timeline as the decisive factors.
Our Assessment
A super PAC ad asserted that El-Sayed urged Democrats to vote uncommitted despite warnings from Gov. Whitmer about aiding Donald Trump.
The record shows El-Sayed did promote the uncommitted protest vote during the primary to push for a shift in U.S. policy on Gaza. However, the commercial omits the crucial context that he promptly endorsed Harris once she became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Because the ad contains factual elements but purposefully leaves out vital context, the claim is rated **Half True**.