Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has given his blessing to a high-profile leftist Democrat running for Michigan governor.
Abdul El-Sayed, an Oxford-educated Rhodes Scholar who’s Muslim family who left Egypt in pursuit of greater opportunity in America, is running in the Aug. 7 primary.
“Under Abdul’s leadership, Michigan can help lead the nation in guaranteeing health care for all through a Medicare for All single-payer type system; tuition-free public colleges and universities; a minimum wage of $15 per hour; and strong environmental protections,” Sanders said on Twitter.
If elected, the 33-year-old El-Sayed, a former executive director of the Detroit Health Department, would be the first Muslim governor in the United States.
He is facing Gretchen Whitmer, a former Democratic member of the Michigan Senate and Senate Democratic Leader, and Shri Thanedar, who co-founded Avomeen Analytical Services, an Ann Arbor-based chemical testing laboratory.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.