Midwest
Fierce Israel critic launches Senate bid in Michigan high-stakes 2026 midterm race
A former Michigan public health official and Democratic candidate for governor entered the race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat on Thursday in what could be one of the most watched races in the 2026 midterm elections.
Abdul El-Sayed, 40, is the second Democrat to put his name in the running to replace Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is not seeking reelection.
El-Sayed, a prominent figure in a movement that was highly critical of support for Israel in the 2024 election cycle, aims to set himself apart from the other Democratic candidates in the race to replace Peters, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
McMorrow has said she would vote against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., retaining his leadership position should she prevail in the primary and general election to represent the battleground state in the upper chamber of Congress.
However, El-Sayed held back criticism of Schumer.
“Anybody who tells you that they’re going to unilaterally oppose one potential candidate without knowing who the alternative is, is either unnuanced or unsophisticated,” El-Sayed told Politico. “So I want to know who is available, who is actively seeking the leadership. I’ll make a decision from there.”
GRETCHEN WHITMER RIBBED ONLINE FOR SEEMING TO HIDE FACE IN OVAL OFFICE
Michigan Democratic then-gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaigns with support from New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a rally on the campus of Wayne State University on July 28, 2018, in Detroit. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
“What we need right now is somebody who’s willing to take the fight directly to Trump and Musk, but then also knows how to rebuild a version of our federal government that better serves working people after the carnage that Musk and Trump are going to leave behind, and I think I offer that,” he told Politico.
Other Democrats considering a run to replace Peters include U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
El-Sayed was active in the “uncommited movement,” a group of anti-Israel, traditionally Democratic voters in Michigan, a critical swing state, who threatened to withhold support from then-President Joe Biden, and then then-Vice President Kamala Harris, over the administration’s stance on Gaza. He did say he would back whoever was the eventual Democratic choice for the presidential ticket to oppose now-President Donald Trump, according to Politico.
The Israel-Hamas war exposed deep divisions within the Democratic Party last election cycle, and there is concern the conflict could again make for a messy Senate Democratic primary in Michigan if the American Israel Public Affairs Committee intervenes. The powerful pro-Israel lobby group financially backed Stevens in 2022, when redistricting forced a competitive primary run against fellow Democrat, Rep. Andy Levin.
“Everybody is unified around leadership that reminds the Democratic Party that we ought to be the party of peace and justice, that we ought not to be the party sending bombs and money to foreign militaries to drop bombs on other people’s kids in their schools and their hospitals, when our kids need more, our hospitals and schools need more, and we should be spending that money here at home,” El-Sayed told Politico.
Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a coronavirus public health roundtable with presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday, March 9, 2020. (Erin Kirkland/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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El-Sayed ran for governor in 2018 as a progressive Democrat and was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
He came in second in the Democratic primary, losing to Gretchen Whitmer by more than 20 points and beating now-U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar by more than 12 points. Whitmer went on to win the general election and is in the midst of a second term. She cannot run again because of term limits.
A resident of Ann Arbor, El-Sayed recently served as director of the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services in Wayne County, home to Detroit. Before that, he was the public health director of the city after it declared bankruptcy in 2013.
El-Sayed cautioned Democrats against learning the “wrong lessons” from their defeats.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders participates in a coronavirus public health roundtable with healthcare professionals, including Abdul El-Sayed, left, as he campaigns on March 9, 2020, in Detroit. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“If you cut corners and trim your message, and you triangulate to the least common denominator, you can find something that’s perfectly inoffensive to everyone, and the problem with that is that you’re not actually saying anything,” he told Politico.
El-Sayed said he met with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Tuesday. He told Politico that it was his “understanding” that the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm would not get involved in the primary. If that happens, that deviates from how the DSCC previously acted to clear the field of potential primary candidates to make for an easier primary victory for then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Now-Sen. Slotkin, D-Mich., easily won the primary over Hill Harper, and then won the general election.
El-Sayed is also the second candidate this week to launch a campaign to replace Peters. On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers launched his bid on Monday after losing the Senate race last year by 19,000 votes to Democrat Slotkin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., says her guest at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was forcibly removed and arrested by Capitol Police on Tuesday night.
Omar cited “reports” claiming that software engineer Aliya Rahman was “aggressively handled” as she was forcibly removed from the chamber during Trump’s speech. Omar invited Rahman after she had an altercation with federal agents in Minnesota during “Operation Metro Surge” in January.
“My guest, Aliya Rahman, stood up silently in the gallery during the president’s speech for a short period of time, part of which other guests were also standing. For that, she was forcibly removed, despite warning officers about her injured shoulders and ultimately charged with ‘Unlawful Conduct,’” Omar wrote in a statement.
“Reports indicate she was aggressively handled until someone intervened to secure medical attention. She was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment and later booked at the United States Capitol Police headquarters,” she continued.
Rep. Ilhan Omar says her guest to Trump’s State of the Union address was arrested. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
“The heavy-handed response to a peaceful guest sends a chilling message about the state of our democracy. I am calling for a full explanation of why this arrest occurred,” she added.
Fox News reached out to Capitol Police, but they did not immediately respond.
The charge Omar said Rahman faces exposes her to a possible sentence of six months in prison and a fine of up to $500.
“There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up,” Rahman told Democracy Now. “I was arrested for standing up.”
ILHAN OMAR DOESN’T HAVE ANY REGRETS FOR HER ”UNAVOIDABLE’ OUTBURST AT STATE OF THE UNION
Aliya Rahman, a guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D- MN, and a Minneapolis resident who was detained by DHS agents, is escorted from the chamber as Trump delivers his State of the Union address during a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on February 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The incident comes after Trump deployed border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis last month after several violent and even deadly interactions between anti-ICE agitators and federal law enforcement.
Homan announced the end of “Operation Metro Surge” earlier this month, saying it was no longer necessary thanks to new cooperation from local law enforcement.
“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said Feb. 12.
White House border czar Tom Homan attends a press conference in Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 29, 2026. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Homan clarified that a “small footprint of personnel” would remain for a period of time, and he also remains in Minnesota monitoring the drawdown process.
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“Additionally, federal government personnel assigned to conduct criminal investigations into the agitators, as well as the personnel assigned here for the fraud investigations, will remain in place until the work is done,” Homan said at the time.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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When to call 911 and when to use non-emergency lines
This video explains the importance of knowing when to call 911 for emergencies and when to use non-emergency lines for less critical situations.
Detroit restaurateur and nightlife mainstay Michael “Mike B.” Brown was fatally shot early Saturday morning on the city’s west side, a violent incident that also left two other people injured and sent shockwaves through Detroit’s hospitality and entertainment communities.
According to Detroit police, the shooting occurred outside Suite 100, a cocktail bar on Schaefer Highway near Puritan Avenue. Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward. As of Sunday afternoon, authorities had not announced any suspects or arrests.
“At approximately 4:30 a.m., Saturday, there was a triple shooting that occurred at 15789 Schaefer,” Detroit Police Department (DPD) media relations manager Jasmin Barmore wrote in an official statement Sunday afternoon. “Two of the vicims were found in front of the location and the third across the street from the location. Unfortunately, the victim found across the street from the location, Mikey Brown, succumbed to his injuries.
“The Detroit Police Department extends their condolences to the family and is asking the community for assistance with this incident. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to please contact DPD’s homicide unit or, they can submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers or Detroit Rewards TV.”
Brown, 52, had spent decades building a name for himself across Detroit’s club and restaurant circuits, evolving from party promoter to business owner and, in recent years, a culinary entrepreneur with expanding ambitions. His death comes at a moment when he had been working to grow his “Sloppy” restaurant brand – a move that aligned with the rise of new Black-owned establishments reshaping the city’s dining landscape.
His first major restaurant venture, Sloppy Chops, opened in 2020 on West McNichols just off the Lodge Freeway. The steakhouse featured high-end cuts like ribeyes and tomahawks, but it quickly drew wide attention for its low-cost lamb chop specials – a dish with a fervent local following and long-standing ties to the city’s food culture.
A year later, Brown launched Sloppy Crab, later renamed the Crab Sports Bar, on East Jefferson Avenue near the Renaissance Center. The seafood spot mixed Detroiters’ love for crab dishes with the energetic, nightlife-forward atmosphere Brown had refined during his years in the entertainment scene. Occasional cover charges, signature strong cocktails and celebrity drop-ins helped make the venue one of downtown’s most animated destinations, placing it alongside longstanding nightlife pillars such as Floods Bar & Grille and Sweetwater Tavern.
Both restaurants emerged during a period when Detroiters were increasingly vocal about who new development served. Sloppy Crab’s proximity to the riverfront offered an answer to residents who wondered where Black diners fit into the city’s transforming downtown, while Sloppy Chops demonstrated that restaurants with the energy and polish of downtown destinations could thrive in the neighborhoods as well.
As of Sunday afternoon, more than 1,000 comments expressing sadness and shock had flooded a pinned post on Brown’s Instagram page, along with a number of posts on his Facebook profile.
On her own page, Darralynn Hutson, an award-winning journalist, author, documentarian and media strategist who has provided content to a host of media outlets including the Detroit Free Press, shared photos of herself with Brown.
“I had the opportunity to interview Mike a few years ago for a feature in Food & Wine and I remember how reluctant he was about sitting down to talk,” Hutson recalled. “Interviews weren’t his thing – he was much more comfortable building than explaining. I had to call him more than 20 times to set up the interview. He didn’t care about Food & Wine. But once we ate and got into conversation, what came out was his commitment to creating something for his Detroit.”
Brown’s influence stretched far beyond his menus. His establishments became recognizable gathering places, and his presence – familiar from downtown corridors to Dexter Avenue – made him a significant cultural figure in Detroit’s nightlife and, later, its dining renaissance.
His death leaves both industries mourning a personality whose ambitions were still growing, and whose imprint on the city’s social fabric remains unmistakable.
Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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