How radical is Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed? Former Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson is urging Democrats to leave the U.S. Senate race blank in November, arguing that El-Sayed has failed to address concerns within his own party. Johnson and longtime Democratic strategist David Kramer outlined their position in a Detroit News op-ed, rejecting both El-Sayed and a crossover vote for Republican Mike Rogers.
The two backed U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the August primary, which El-Sayed won by roughly one percentage point. They argued that winning the nomination did not relieve him of the responsibility to earn support from Democrats who preferred another candidate.
Democrats “had every right to expect … a commitment to earn their trust, address their legitimate concerns and unite a party whose nomination he won with less than 50% of the vote. He has failed that test,” they wrote.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, faces Rogers in the Nov. 3 election for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Recent polls have shown the Democrat narrowly ahead, making defections within his party a potential factor in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
Johnson has been laying into El-Sayed for his radicalism and apparently inability to differentiate between Iran and Israel.
See how easy this is @AbdulElSayed It wasn't hypothetical when the Iranian's armed the militias that tried to kill us in Iraq. And they're still trying… https://t.co/URzXyfMNzh
— Lon Johnson (@LonJohnson48226) October 15, 2026
Johnson and Kramer said some Democrats have pressed them to support Rogers, the Trump-endorsed former congressman who narrowly lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in 2024. They instead urged dissatisfied voters to withhold support from both candidates.
“For many of us, there is dignity in leaving it blank,” they wrote. The approach offers Democrats who oppose El-Sayed a way to register their objections without voting for the Republican ticket.
Their criticism centers on El-Sayed’s positions on Israel, his associations and what they called “his reluctance to unequivocally condemn dangerous rhetoric and his support of extreme policies.” Those concerns have drawn opposition from some Jewish Democrats, including prominent figures who have endorsed Rogers. A recent rally at Temple Israel drew about 1,000 people with a focus on opposing El-Sayed.
Leaving the race blank would still help Rogers by denying his opponent a vote, though it would have less impact than switching directly to the Republican. Johnson and Kramer acknowledged the stakes but argued that Democratic victories elsewhere could offset a Rogers win and that El-Sayed’s positions would hamper his effectiveness in Washington.
The pair also rejected the argument that party loyalty requires supporting every nominee. Stevens, meanwhile, has publicly backed El-Sayed for the general election.
“We remain Democrats, committed to electing outstanding candidates up and down the ballot and protecting the party’s future,” Johnson and Kramer wrote. “We reject the notion that declining to support one nominee makes anyone less of a Democrat.”
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