Abdul El-Sayed
Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, and former public health official from Michigan who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026. He previously led the Detroit Health Department and later Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, and his campaign says he is focused on health care, affordability, civil rights, and government reform.
Positions on Key Issues
| Issue | Stance | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | El-Sayed supports Medicare for All and says health care should be guaranteed as a right. His campaign also says he wants to lower prescription drug costs and build a system that works for every American. | ● high | |
| Economy | El-Sayed says he wants an economy for working people by ending corporate tax breaks, strengthening unions, supporting small businesses, and lowering costs for Michiganders. His campaign also emphasizes domestic manufacturing and public investment. | ● high | |
| Climate/Energy | El-Sayed says he wants stronger protections for clean air and water and to hold polluters accountable for contamination. He frames environmental policy as part of public health and environmental justice. | ● high | |
| Abortion & Reproductive Health | El-Sayed supports abortion rights and says he would codify the rights once protected by Roe v. Wade into federal law. His campaign also links reproductive access to broader civil rights and health care protections. | ● high | |
| Immigration | El-Sayed has said he wants to abolish ICE and sharply limit its role, while still supporting immigration enforcement in a different form. He has criticized ICE as militarized and abusive. | ● high | |
| Firearms & Second Amendment | No public position found | ○ low | |
| Foreign Policy | El-Sayed says he favors a diplomacy-first foreign policy rooted in multilateralism, human rights, and alliances. He opposes direct funding of foreign militaries and says the U.S. should avoid interventions like Vietnam or Iraq. | ● high | |
| Civil Rights & Equality | El-Sayed says he will protect civil rights and liberties for people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or income. His campaign emphasizes equal rights, non-discrimination protections, and the right to protest peacefully. | ● high | |
| Education | El-Sayed supports universal pre-K, stronger public K-12 schools, school infrastructure investment, vocational training, and debt-free or tuition-free paths to higher education. He also says he wants more funding for research and higher education. | ● high | |
| Tech & AI | El-Sayed has proposed rules for data centers that would require them to pay for their own energy demand, provide community transparency, use binding community-benefits agreements, and meet environmental safeguards. He also ties developments to local jobs and apprenticeship requirements. | ● high | |
| Election Policy | El-Sayed says he wants to get money out of politics and has supported ending the filibuster and reforming the Supreme Court. He frames these changes as ways to reduce corporate influence and improve democratic accountability. | ● high | |
| Local Issues | El-Sayed’s data-center proposal says new projects should not raise rates for residents, should pay their own energy costs, and should include community input, closed-loop water systems, union labor, apprenticeship requirements, and penalties for noncompliance. The campaign presents the plan as a local affordability and infrastructure issue. | ● high |
Healthcare
● highEl-Sayed supports Medicare for All and says health care should be guaranteed as a right. His campaign also says he wants to lower prescription drug costs and build a system that works for every American.
Economy
● highEl-Sayed says he wants an economy for working people by ending corporate tax breaks, strengthening unions, supporting small businesses, and lowering costs for Michiganders. His campaign also emphasizes domestic manufacturing and public investment.
Climate/Energy
● highEl-Sayed says he wants stronger protections for clean air and water and to hold polluters accountable for contamination. He frames environmental policy as part of public health and environmental justice.
Abortion & Reproductive Health
● highEl-Sayed supports abortion rights and says he would codify the rights once protected by Roe v. Wade into federal law. His campaign also links reproductive access to broader civil rights and health care protections.
Immigration
● highEl-Sayed has said he wants to abolish ICE and sharply limit its role, while still supporting immigration enforcement in a different form. He has criticized ICE as militarized and abusive.
Foreign Policy
● highEl-Sayed says he favors a diplomacy-first foreign policy rooted in multilateralism, human rights, and alliances. He opposes direct funding of foreign militaries and says the U.S. should avoid interventions like Vietnam or Iraq.
Civil Rights & Equality
● highEl-Sayed says he will protect civil rights and liberties for people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or income. His campaign emphasizes equal rights, non-discrimination protections, and the right to protest peacefully.
Education
● highEl-Sayed supports universal pre-K, stronger public K-12 schools, school infrastructure investment, vocational training, and debt-free or tuition-free paths to higher education. He also says he wants more funding for research and higher education.
Tech & AI
● highEl-Sayed has proposed rules for data centers that would require them to pay for their own energy demand, provide community transparency, use binding community-benefits agreements, and meet environmental safeguards. He also ties developments to local jobs and apprenticeship requirements.
Election Policy
● highEl-Sayed says he wants to get money out of politics and has supported ending the filibuster and reforming the Supreme Court. He frames these changes as ways to reduce corporate influence and improve democratic accountability.
Local Issues
● highEl-Sayed’s data-center proposal says new projects should not raise rates for residents, should pay their own energy costs, and should include community input, closed-loop water systems, union labor, apprenticeship requirements, and penalties for noncompliance. The campaign presents the plan as a local affordability and infrastructure issue.
Background
Career History
Declared candidate in Michigan’s 2026 U.S. Senate race.
Led county health and human services operations.
Managed Detroit’s public health department.
Taught and worked in public health research and policy.
Education
Top Donors
Public 2026 campaign disclosures and campaign statements indicate a heavily grassroots-funded race: El-Sayed said he raised about $1.8 million in under three months and later about $1.77 million in Q3 2025, with 22,000+ donations from 17,000+ individual donors and no corporate PAC money. OpenSecrets and FEC candidate pages are available for federal filing review, but the campaign’s own disclosures emphasize small-dollar support rather than industry PAC dominance.
Voting Record
No public legislative voting record. No prior elected or executive office found that would produce a legislative roll-call record; available reporting instead describes El-Sayed as a physician, former public health professor, and former government official. His campaign platform emphasizes Medicare for All and reducing the influence of money in politics.
Data Analysis Information
Data compiled from public sources and analyzed using AI. Last updated 4/29/2026. Visit candidate websites for the most current information.