by Ben Whedon
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has moved $1 million to the campaign of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the New York Times reported Friday.
“I’m not waking up on November 4th wishing I did more to combat the smears aimed at Abdul. I’m leaving everything I can on the field,” she told the outlet.
In July, Ocasio-Cortez endorsed El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race.
“After watching this campaign unfold for well over a year, it has become clear that Abdul El-Sayed is the strongest candidate to keep this seat in November,” said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. “He is building a winning coalition by putting forward an agenda that speaks directly to working people,” the representative said.
“He is not afraid to take on the greed making life unaffordable across Michigan because he’s never taken a dime in corporate donations. When he gets to Washington, he will work to get big money out of politics and to guarantee healthcare as a human right to all Americans. I am proud to endorse Abdul El-Sayed to be Michigan’s next senator,” she added.
The transfer comes as the Michigan contest shapes up to be one of the most competitive of the 2026 cycle and could prove pivotal in the battle for the upper chamber.
The congresswoman made the donation to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund, a joint effort between his campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee. She raised $4.7 million in the third quarter this year and entered October with nearly $17.4 million in the bank, The Times also reports.
El-Sayed triumphed over Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the party primary, marking one of the more noteworthy triumphs of a progressive candidate over a traditional Democrat in the primary.
Ocasio-Cortez, for her part, has emerged as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Abdul El-Sayed” by Abdul El-Sayed.
