ICYMI: Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Barnstorm Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
MICHIGAN – Yesterday, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined Michiganders for events across the Upper Peninsula, stopping in to speak to a crowd of over 400 Escanaba, over 450 in Iron Mountain, and over 1,300 in Marquette. At each venue, Yoopers came together to talk about the issues affecting their lives: the cost of living crisis, corporate greed, and our broken healthcare system.
In Marquette, Abdul directly addressed increasingly vile attacks from Republicans, saying: “Don’t lecture me about America. I know America…In America, we don’t discriminate against people for who they love, how they identify, how they pray, or the color of their skin. We believe in an America big enough for all of us.”
KEY COVERAGE BELOW:
New York Times: Ocasio-Cortez and El-Sayed on the Trail: A Barn, a Bus and a Clash With Vance:
11:03 a.m. — Hundreds of people have lined up outside a large red storage barn on a fairground in Escanaba, a tiny lakeside city in a county Donald J. Trump carried by more than 30 percentage points in 2024. Many in the crowd describe themselves as committed Democrats from the Upper Peninsula who are thrilled, and surprised, to receive a visit from such high-profile guests. “Nobody ever bothers to come to the Upper Peninsula,” says Michelle Ottensman, 63, of Escanaba.
12:06 p.m. — Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, taking the stage before Dr. El-Sayed, is greeted by chants of “AOC! AOC!” The congresswoman quickly praises Dr. El-Sayed, saying he is “not a typical politician” and is unafraid to campaign in unscripted settings.
12:13 p.m — Dr. El-Sayed takes the stage and hugs Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. He leads a call-and-response chant that has become a staple of his campaign: “Money out of?” “Politics!” “Money in your?” “Pocket!” “Medicare for all!”
1:18 p.m. — Dr. El-Sayed tells reporters after the event that voters in the area say they “voted for Trump not because I love Trump — I voted for Trump because I hate politics.” El-Sayed casts himself as “something different.” He notes that he ran against his own party’s establishment in the Democratic primary for Senate. “The real organizing feature of our politics is really who’s running against the system.”
3:27 p.m. — Dr. El-Sayed appears before a crowd that has filled the second floor of a ski lodge in Iron Mountain. The crowd, which Dr. El-Sayed’s campaign says numbers around 450, overflows into another room, where dozens of people are listening. A driving rain is now falling on the Upper Peninsula.
4:13 p.m. — Dr. El-Sayed tells the crowd he’s been told, “You’re a Democrat — why would you come up to Iron Mountain?” He talks of unity and says he believes some people who voted for Mr. Trump in 2024 now regret their votes. “They’re paying $5 gas, too,” Dr. El-Sayed says. He urges his supporters to reach out to those in their lives who have supported President Trump. “We can spend our time trying to indict people for a bad decision they cannot yet take back,” he says, “or inviting them to a decision they have yet to make.”
7:01 p.m. — A waving Ms. Ocasio-Cortez takes the stage to a standing ovation in a packed gymnasium at Northern Michigan University. The bus tour has moved to deep-blue Marquette, a college town on Lake Superior. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez marvels at the scene. “What a sight to see,” she says.
7:41 p.m. — Dr. El-Sayed, a son of Egyptian immigrants, responds to Mr. Vance’s comments in Monroe. Dr. El-Sayed says he “understands how deep and profound the gift of this country” is as “a kid who was born here but for the accident of history that allowed that to happen.” He adds: “Don’t lecture me about America. I know America.
WEMU: El-Sayed takes Senate campaign to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Ocasio-Cortez
Retired federal worker and Escanaba resident, Anne Okonek, said El-Sayed’s and Ocasio-Cortez’s messages resonated with her.
“The rich are getting richer, the poor middle class are falling further behind and we need to change our priorities. And that’s the message that Abdul has, and Alexandria as well,” Okonek said.
Marissa Backlund is a graphic designer and cheerleading coach. She said the Medicare for All messaging makes her emotional.
“It’s crazy how many people I know, especially younger people … who will not go to a hospital or anyone because they just can’t afford it, ever,” she said. “And then you see so many people dying of all these random diseases and things … that could have been prevented.”
WLUC: Abdul El-Sayed, AOC campaign at Iron Mountain town hall
Rainy weather didn’t keep supporters from lining up Thursday outside Pine Mountain Resort in Iron Mountain for a town hall featuring Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
El-Sayed arrived by bus to a crowd of supporters and was joined by a special guest, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. People waiting to get inside said they were glad El-Sayed came to this part of Michigan and were eager to hear from both speakers.
“I’m very excited to hear the progressive policies they have to say and that could help not only people in our largest cities but those of us that are in the north here, rural areas, rural cities that have been overlooked for years and how those policies could potentially help us,” said Joshua Prall-Stankewitz of Menominee.
Speaking to the crowd, Ocasio-Cortez says El-Sayed is the right choice for Michigan because of his ties to the state.
“Abdul is a son of Michigan; he grew up here,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “He’s a second-generation union member, and he spent his career fighting for the people of this state.
Semafor: El-Sayed pushes back at Republicans who judge him because he ‘might pray differently’
El-Sayed said insinuating he might not be loyal to the Constitution because of his faith was “the same thing that was done to JFK when they tried to say that, ‘Oh, well, he’s going to answer to the Pope because he’s Catholic.’ Same thing they tried to do to President Obama.”
John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic president, faced some false accusations of “dual loyalties” because of his faith. And the hard right pushed conspiracy theories about the religious practices of Obama, who is a Christian and was the first Black president.
El-Sayed was campaigning in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this week as part of a swing with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. El-Sayed and Democrats are hoping they can grow the electorate in what has traditionally been redder territory in the state.
myupnow.com: El-Sayed Ocasio-Cortez bring health care, economic pitch to Marquette as Senate race intensifies
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My UP Now pressed El-Sayed on his strategy in the Upper Peninsula, a region that leans roughly 60-40 Republican and accounts for 3 percent of Michigan’s electorate.
El-Sayed pointed to the 450 people who turned out in Iron Mountain and the 500 in Escanaba earlier Thursday as evidence that his economic pitch cuts across partisan lines.
When we asked if rural northern voters are raising different issues than voters in metro Detroit, El-Sayed said the underlying problems are the same, even if rural distances make them more expensive.
When we asked if rural northern voters are raising different issues than voters in metro Detroit, El-Sayed said the underlying problems are the same, even if rural distances make them more expensive.
“You talk to folks in Detroit and they’ll tell you they can’t see a doctor,” El-Sayed said, “and you talk to folks in the U.P. and they can’t see a doctor for different reasons, but in the end it comes down to that same issue.”
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