Former Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan next week, a spokesperson for Harris confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday.
El-Sayed, a former public health official, faces one of the most competitive Senate races in the country this year against former Rep. Mike Rogers.
“Vice President Harris looks forward to returning to Michigan to help turn out the vote in this critical state. While there, she will highlight the issue of Black maternal health, joined by Dr. El-Sayed,” Harris spokesperson Eduardo Negrón said in a statement. “It is critical we flip the Senate so we can bring down prices and stand up to Donald Trump’s corruption.”
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is retiring, and Democrats are seeking to hold on to his seat and potentially gain a Senate majority by flipping Republican-held seats in other states.
Meanwhile, Republicans face headwinds like inflation and an unpopular war in Iran as they aim to maintain or expand their control of the Senate.
Harris, who lost to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, endorsed El-Sayed in August after he won a competitive primary against Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens.
Roxie Richner, a spokesperson for El-Sayed, told NBC News on Wednesday that “Abdul is thrilled to welcome Vice President Harris to Michigan for a conversation about improving Black maternal health and bringing down healthcare costs.”
Richner added: “He looks forward to hearing directly from Black women and healthcare providers and discussing how he’ll continue that work in the Senate. There’s no better choice for Michiganders than Abdul when it comes to making healthcare more affordable, and he’s grateful Vice President Harris will join him in spreading that message.”
Michigan has been a competitive battleground state in statewide and national elections for years. In 2028, it will be the fifth state to vote in the Democratic nominating contest for the presidential election.
Harris has decided to campaign there amid speculation that she may run for president again in two years.
In 2024, Trump beat Harris in Michigan by less than 2 percentage points on his way back to the White House. The same year, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., beat Rogers in a Senate race by less than 1 point.
Negrón added that while she is in Michigan, Harris will also meet with local elected officials and faith-based leaders.
The race between El-Sayed and Rogers has gotten increasingly nasty in recent weeks.
El-Sayed has targeted Rogers for accepting corporate donations, repeatedly accusing him of representing corporate interests.
Alongside a video highlighting Rogers’ acceptance of campaign donations from pharmaceutical companies, El-Sayed wrote on X that Michiganders “are *literally* sick of Mike Rogers’ corruption.”
In another post accusing Rogers of pushing to raise the retirement age nationally, El-Sayed wrote, “He’s a corrupt coward who cares only about his and his donors’ profits and nothing about people.”
On the other side of the aisle, Vice President JD Vance has called El-Sayed “evil,” telling people at an event in Michigan last month, “I realize that there’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today.”
El-Sayed has faced backlash for having accepted support from and campaigned with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker during the Democratic primary campaign. Republicans have sought to tie Piker’s past controversial comments about the 9/11 terrorist attacks to El-Sayed, who has disavowed them. Piker has also apologized for the remarks.
El-Sayed, who would be the first Muslim U.S. senator, has accused Republicans of Islamophobic attacks against him.
Shortly after his primary victory, the National Republican Senatorial Committee posted a video on X calling him “radical” and “dangerous,” using his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.
In an interview last month with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” El-Sayed called the attacks similar to ones levied against former President Barack Obama, whose full name is Barack Hussein Obama.
“We always knew they were going to go here. I mean, notice how they chose to use my full name in echoes to exactly what they did against President Obama,” El-Sayed said at the time.
“At the end of the day, it’s not radical to believe that people should be able to afford their groceries,” he added. “It’s not radical to believe that you should have healthcare in this country.”
