Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is set to campaign with former Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, his campaign says.
The former vice president will speak with El-Sayed about ways to improve infant mortality disparities and maternal health outcomes among Black women, officials say. Black women continue to die from pregnancy-related causes at 3x the rate of white women, according to the CDC.
Harris endorsed El-Sayed after he defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, to win the Democratic nomination. El-Sayed is running to defeat former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-White Lake Township, on Nov. 3.
“Abdul is thrilled to welcome Vice President Harris to Michigan for a conversation about improving Black maternal health and bringing down healthcare costs,” El-Sayed’s spokesperson Roxie Richner said. “He looks forward to hearing directly from Black women and healthcare providers and discussing how he’ll continue that work in the Senate.”
Harris is coming to the state as Democrats are trying to unite the party after a contentious primary election that pit the moderate and progressive wings of the base against each other.
El-Sayed drew criticism from some on the left when he endorsed the former vice president days after it was announced she would be the nominee instead of former President Joe Biden. He supported the “Uncommitted” movement in February 2024 which was a protest against the president’s policies in Gaza. And El-Sayed supported Harris despite the vice president’s refusal to shift from the president’s pro-Israel.
Michigan was among the seven battlegrounds Harris lost to President Donald Trump in 2024. In 2028, it is among the first six states in the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating process.
Harris is reportedly still considering whether to run for president again in 2028.
El-Sayed has said trying to get her elected in the 107-day window was the most difficult experience of his political career.
In Michigan, the state’s Arab American communities rejected the Democratic Party after Harris did not break with Biden after she became the party’s nominee.
Harris earlier this year called Uncommitted leader Abbas Alaweih, who won his state Senate primary in August, to apologize for not letting Democrats sympathetic to the Palestinian cause on stage at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
While in Michigan, Harris will also meet with the Rev. Wendell Anthony, the president of the NAACP Detroit branch.
