I was hoping that the Michigan Senate race would get out of the national news. I thought Abdul El-Sayed was a savvy enough politician to pivot toward the middle and start talking about the problems facing Michigan voters. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
Instead, El-Sayed went on Fox News to debate Jesse Watters. First, he’s not running against Watters. Second, probably 90% of the people watching can’t vote for him. If he wanted to talk to Republicans, he should have been on some Michigan talk radio program, not cable news.
El-Sayed is making the race about him, not the voters. At least it sure looks that way from here. He’s talking about national issues that turn off swing voters instead of kitchen table issues that affect the day-to-day lives of average Americans. If his race is about Medicare for All, Gaza, and ICE, he will probably lose. If it’s about gas prices, groceries, jobs, and Trump he’ll probably win.
Maybe El-Sayed was fishing for more low-dollar donors, but he seems to still be running a primary campaign. He’s appealing to his base while largely ignoring the people who will determine the election. Not many swing voters are watching a debate on Fox News.
I worry that El-Sayed is just another one of these performative politicians who love the applause and reaction more than the hard work of governing. He’s focused more on slogans like Medicare for All than outcomes like universal health care. He should be talking to the people who will vote for him instead of cable news junkies.
He can still win Michigan, but he can also blow it. The political environment for Republicans seems to be getting worse, not better. Trump’s trade war with Canada will hurt Michigan especially hard. His war with Iran is keeping gas prices high. According to a recent poll, he’s underwater on almost every major issue, including border security and immigration.
The race needs to be about Trump and his failures more than El-Sayed and his slogans. The solutions need to be broad, not specific. He should be addressing the rising cost of living in terms that make people believe he hears them and is not just pushing an agenda.
He should be talking about ending tariffs to bring cheaper goods into the country and create more jobs to send American-made products to our trading partners. He should be talking about bringing down the cost of gas by ending the war in Iran. And, yes, he should be talking about bringing down the cost of health care, even for people who would prefer to keep their private plans.
And he should be making these arguments in Michigan town halls and on Michigan TV and radio stations, not on some cable news show that attracts a national audience. He’s not running for president and he shouldn’t be debating infotainment stars anyway.
It’s time to pivot. The fall is almost here.
Ah, give it a rest. Everyone knows you don't like Abdul, but this is starting to get ridiculous. I thought this blog was supposed to be about North Carolina politics and here you are writing about a politician in Michigan. If Mike Rodgers wins, you can write a big "I told you so" piece, but if Abdul wins, I hope you have the guts to write a "I was wrong" post. Until then, just lay off.
Tom, You call it performative, maybe so. But there’s another side. He walked into the enemy’s camp to show he could stand his ground. Politics is national by nature. What hits the party anywhere hits all of us, sooner or later.