Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed is facing backlash from members of his own party after saying that moving the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction would require putting “one ogre on a pike.”
During the donor call, el Sayed discussed how winning the Michigan Senate race would give him a national platform to push the Democratic Party further left, including backing a primary challenge against Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in 2028.
“If I win … well, y’all came at me, so now I get to come at you, and, you know, primarying people like John Fetterman, I have no problem to do that,” el Sayed said during a Zoom meeting with donors, according to audio obtained by Politico. “Ideally, you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message, and all of a sudden starts to sound a lot different,” he added, describing how he believed a Senate victory could help advance the progressive movement.
El Sayed did not mention his primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), by name in the portion of the recording reviewed by Politico.
Several Democrats condemned the remarks on Monday.
“Violent, vulgar threats have no place in a democratic electoral contest,” Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) said. “With political violence on the rise, we need to be doing everything we can to lower the temperature — not raise it. It’s the American people who suffer most when we degrade the political process this way.”
An el Sayed campaign spokesperson referred Politico to an earlier statement saying the candidate had been “speaking metaphorically” about supporting a primary challenge to Fetterman.
El Sayed and Fetterman have repeatedly clashed over Israel, and Fetterman has increasingly broken with fellow Democrats, frequently criticizing members of his own party while making regular appearances on conservative media networks.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday that Republicans would welcome Fetterman if he ever chose to leave the Democratic Party.
“We would welcome him,” Thune said last week. “I haven’t talked to him recently. I have had conversations with him in the past, as have many of my colleagues, about the challenges he faces in his caucus. There are many of us who I think would welcome the opportunity to have him in the Republican conference. But that’s a decision that’s up to him.”
Some Democrats interpreted el Sayed’s “ogre” remark as referring to Stevens, even though he did not explicitly mention her in the recording, according to Politico.
“Calling your female opponent an ogre you want to put on a pike is not beating the rap that this race has some serious sexism,” Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, wrote on X.
Melissa Byrne, a former aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), called the comments “an unforced error” that was “really bad and beneath the progressive project,” though she later deleted the post.
ABDUL EL SAYED’S 2028 AMBITIONS CLOUD MICHIGAN SENATE RACE AGAINST HALEY STEVENS
“Abdul continues with personal insults and making this race about his personal political ambitions and the other 49 states,” said Arik Wolk, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign. “Haley is focused on getting things done for Michigan, and only Michigan.”
The comments come as el Sayed and Stevens are scheduled to meet Monday night for their final Democratic Senate debate ahead of the Aug. 4 primary.