Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed suggested he could build an unlikely coalition that includes supporters of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), arguing that many voters who follow the Georgia Republican will ultimately back his campaign.
The comments come as El-Sayed, a Democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and now Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), continues to rack up high-profile endorsements in Michigan’s closely watched Democratic Senate primary against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
During an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, El-Sayed was asked about ideological overlap between himself and Greene, including opposition to AIPAC, skepticism toward continued U.S. funding for Israel, and criticism of rising healthcare costs. Burns asked whether those similarities could help him build “this new coalition with people like MTG.”
“Look, she’s said a lot of things I disagree with too,” El-Sayed replied. “I will just say this: I wouldn’t be surprised. When you ask me about why establishment, elite Democrats are so worried about me, it’s because there are a lot of people who listen to her who are going to vote for me in the general election.”
“They’re not afraid I’m going to lose,” he continued. “They’re afraid I’m going to win.”
Rather than distancing himself from Greene’s audience, El-Sayed argued that many of the issues motivating her supporters also resonate with his left-wing campaign.
“The fact that MTG agrees with those points should not be all that uncommon, because they’re just obvious things to say,” El-Sayed said while discussing healthcare costs and foreign policy.
He went on to argue that both major parties have been captured by corporate interests, singling out pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, hospitals, and the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. “When you have a public consensus that’s here … and then a political consensus that’s over here, the difference is usually somebody’s money,” he said.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Marjorie Taylor Greene: “There are a lot of people who listen to her who are going to vote for me in the general election.”
He tells @dashaburns their common ground on issues like Israel and health care “should not be all that… pic.twitter.com/d22Q8RelEo
— POLITICO (@politico) July 20, 2026
The interview comes as left-wing leaders continue to flock to El-Sayed in one of the Democratic Party’s highest-profile ideological primary battles of the 2026 cycle. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez headlined a campaign rally for El-Sayed in Michigan over the weekend as part of their “People versus the Powerful” tour.
“Right now, there is a very clear choice before us,” Ocasio-Cortez told supporters. “We can choose $50 million and counting in dark money trying to buy the state of Michigan, or we can choose Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.”
Sanders likewise framed the race as a test of whether outside spending could determine the Democratic nominee.
“This is an election which will show the nation whether AIPAC and other billionaire-funded super PACs can spend tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to buy a U.S. Senate seat,” Sanders said.
On Monday, Warren became the latest national figure to endorse El-Sayed, praising his pledge to reject corporate PAC money while taking aim at Stevens’ outside support.
“Michiganders deserve a senator who will fight for you, not for special interests running millions of dollars in TV ads to buy this seat,” Warren said in a video announcing her endorsement. “Abdul is the only candidate in this race who can build the grassroots movement needed to win in November.”
The race has emerged as a proxy battle between the Democratic Party’s democratic socialist wing and its establishment leadership. While Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and Warren have lined up behind El-Sayed, Stevens has secured endorsements from retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The winner of the August 4 Democratic primary will likely face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in November in one of the Democrats’ top Senate pickup opportunities as they seek to reclaim the majority.
