El-Sayed lost Jewish support over Israel, antisemitism, but got over 50% of Jewish votes - report

“One of the big issues of disagreement that kept showing up when it came to the Jewish community was my position on Israel,” El-Sayed told Politico.

Newly elected Michigan Democratic Senator Abdul El-Sayed had less support among Jewish voters than other Democrats running in Michigan, according to a Politico report published Friday.

In places with larger Jewish populations, El-Sayed lagged significantly behind other Michigan Democrats, whereas statewide, El-Sayed (with 52.5% of the vote) ran just two points short of Democratic Gov.-elect Jocelyn Benson, who received support from 54.5% of voters.

According to Thursday's report, in heavily Jewish areas such as Huntington Woods, a suburb of Detroit where around 67% of people are Jewish, El-Sayed fell further behind Benson, receiving just 65.3% of the vote compared to 80% for Benson.

A similar effect was seen in West Bloomfield, where around a quarter of people are Jewish. El-Sayed ran 8.8 points behind Benson. West Bloomfield was also the site of an attack on a synagogue in March.

El-Sayed apologized in August for comments he made following the attack, after facing significant backlash from Jewish people both inside his party and in the wider community. The Democratic nominee apologized, saying that his remarks following the attempted targeting of the West Bloomfield synagogue preschool were intended to provide “context.”

In a statement shortly after the attempted attack, El-Sayed had written that "hurt people hurt people," and referenced that the attacker had lost family in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon. Community leaders from Temple Israel and members of the Democratic Party’s Jewish caucus called his statements "offensive," with some accusing him of inverting the onus of responsibility onto the victims.

El-Sayed hopes to improve relations with Jewish community

Speaking to Politico, El-Sayed said he "hoped he could earn support" from the Jewish voters who hadn't backed him during the midterm elections.

“One of the big issues of disagreement that kept showing up when it came to the Jewish community was my position on Israel,” El-Sayed told Politico.

“I’m not going to change my position, but …I intend to lead on all the issues that we agree on - whether it’s the right to a union or the right to health care, clean air, clean water, or religious pluralism, and respect for the Constitution - and I hope that over time I can earn [their] support on those issues.”

“With me, what you see is what you get. And I’ve never once gone and told somebody that I was anything but what I am,” the newly elected senator said. “We’re going to disagree. I’m going to be honest, specific and direct. And over time, I hope that I can earn support for leading on the issues on which I hope to lead and [by] serving everybody.”

Jewish voters make up approximately 1.4% of Michigan and typically show substantial support for the Democrats, Politico added. The divisive issue of support for Israel and concerns regarding rising antisemitism have shaken Jewish voters.

A majority of Jewish early voters still supported El-Sayed, Politico found, but about 25% of those who supported the previous Democratic candidate in 2024 had switched to Mike Rogers over El-Sayed.