Abdul El-Sayed’s supporters in Michigan offered three recurring explanations for backing him: they dismissed concerns about his reported family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, held differing beliefs about his stance on transgender issues, and embraced his affordability message.
First, voters told The Daily Wire they weren’t worried about his possible ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The United States designated the organization’s Egyptian and Jordanian branches as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in January 2026, while designating its Lebanese branch as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and an SDGT.
“I would need more proof that he is,” one El-Sayed voter said. “And even if he is, why is it a bad thing?”
Others said they did not believe he had ties to the organization, despite his signing a 2012 letter addressing the Brotherhood and social media posts in which his maternal half-sister described historical family connections.
In a June 24, 2012, social media post, Eman Abdelhadi, El-Sayed’s half-sister, said, “My family has long been MB.” She added just days later that she had “had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s...