Michigan Senate Candidate El-Sayed Faces Backlash Over 'Ogre on a Pike' Comment
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing intense backlash from within his own party after a leaked audio recording captured him saying that his victory would send a message by putting 'one ogre on a pike.' The comment, made during a donor Zoom meeting, was widely interpreted as a reference to his primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens. Centrist Democrat Neera Tanden accused El-Sayed of sexism, while former Bernie Sanders staffer Melissa Byrne called it an 'unforced error.' Republicans also seized on the remark, with some invoking anti-Muslim stereotypes. The incident has become a flashpoint in a tense primary that divides progressives and moderates, and comes ahead of the final debate and the August 4 primary. El-Sayed has previously used aggressive rhetoric, including saying Democrats should 'take them to the mud and choke them out.'
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