Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's campaign has paid $82,500 to a Detroit religious organization that state records show was dissolved more than a decade ago. And the pastor running it has some explaining to do.
Abdul El-Sayed, or "AES," has a problem with Black voters in Michigan. He's been dogged by questions about his anti-Israel stances– which tend to irk committed Christians, including in the Black community. As far back as December 2025, there was grumbling that an Arab-American might win a seat representing Michigan in the U.S. Senate before an African-American would, despite Detroit's large Black population and Motown legacy. Michigan ranks 16th for the highest proportion of Black residents, nationally, but is also known for its large Arab-American population.
As a way of assuaging concerns, AES has tried to emphasize his "African" heritage as an American of Egyptian descent.
Key to solving his Black voter problem has been one pastor in the community. But the "fix" hasn't come cheap– or from a community leader free of his own baggage.
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