Democratic · U.S. Senate, Michigan
General election Tuesday, Nov 3, 2026
← Michigan U.S. Senate race · All Michigan races
Former Wayne County health director (2023–2025) and candidate for governor in 2018.
A native of Michigan, El-Sayed attended the University of Michigan, where he played on the lacrosse team.
Also running: Lydia Christensen (L) · Walter P. Kristy (N) · Tim Long (U) · Douglas P. Marsh (G) · Mike Rogers (R)
Grouped by topic by Vote Book; headings and quoted words are the candidate’s own, with the source under each one. “As reported” items are a news outlet’s description, not an exact quote.
IMMIGRATION: What is your position on due process, First Amendment, and Fourth Amendment rights for all Michigan residents, including noncitizens, and what changes, if any, would you support?
No one is above the Constitution, and no one should be denied its protections. Every Michigan resident—regardless of birthplace or status—deserves the rights promised by Due Process, the First Amendment, and the Fourth Amendment. We need a fair immigration system that treats people with dignity, ends summary deportations, creates truly independent courts, and guarantees legal counsel. I will oppose efforts to criminalize peaceful protest or activism. I support abolishing ICE, protecting schools and hospitals from raids, banning racial profiling, and ending qualified immunity for abuses of power.
Break up Big Healthcare
I oppose the hospital mergers and acquisitions that are leaving Americans with fewer healthcare choices and nurses, hospital workers, and doctors with less power at their workplace. I want to empower the FTC to retrospectively review mergers and acquisitions and grant them the power to break up monopolies in …
Prescription Drugs
It is absurd that we pay more for prescription drugs than any other country on Earth. It’s why I was proud to help design President Biden’s drug price negotiation policy that was passed into law under the Inflation Reduction Act. I support expanding that law to empower Medicare to negotiate prices for every single …
Public Health
Public health is critical to keeping us healthy and safe in our communities. If elected, I would be the first Democratic doctor elected to the U.S. Senate since 1969 and the first-ever public health official to serve in that body. Given all that RFK Jr. has done to corrupt our public health in this country, we need …
HEALTH CARE: What specific steps will you take in Congress to address healthcare affordability, access, and quality for the people you represent?
As a doctor and public health official, one of the first pieces of legislation I will sponsor in the US Senate would be a bill to enact Medicare for All and eliminate medical debt nationwide. I spent my career fighting to fix our healthcare system and even wrote the book "Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide" to help everyday people understand how we can achieve a system that works for everyone. Beyond introducing legislation, I will use this office as a platform to change the conversation about healthcare in America and continue to galvanize a movement to elect leaders across the country who support Medicare for All.
ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY: How would you approach ensuring energy reliability, consumer affordability, and environmental protection in Michigan?
In Michigan, families are squeezed by soaring energy bills while utilities make record profits and polluters get a free pass. I’ve spent my career fighting for public health and economic justice, and I’m ready to take on the corporate interests blocking progress. My plan: make big data centers and heavy industry pay their fair share, so costs don’t fall on working people. I’ll end fossil fuel subsidies, invest in a modern grid powered by 100% clean energy, and guarantee affordable water for all. We must hold polluters accountable, protect our Great Lakes, and ensure the clean energy transition delivers good union jobs in every community.
Additional Priorities
Money Out of Politics Banning Corporate Money in Politics Ending Gerrymandering Supreme Court Reform Abolishing the Filibuster Making Voting Easier Civil Rights & Liberties Immigration Environment and Natural Resources Water Sensible Foreign Policy
ECONOMY: What policy initiatives do you support for residents to earn a living wage and address the overall question of affordability across Michigan?
It shouldn’t be this hard for Michiganders to earn a living wage and build a dignified life. I’m fighting for a bold economic agenda: raising wages, restoring union power, guaranteeing healthcare for all, and standing up to corporate greed. We must raise the minimum wage, end subminimum pay, and protect workers’ rights. I’ll deliver tax relief for working people and make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share. I’ll fight for Medicare for All, abolish medical debt, and stop people from choosing between rent and medicine. I’ll crack down on price gouging and invest in affordable housing, childcare, and debt-free education.
Veterans Affairs
As the former Director of Wayne County’s Veterans Services division, I hold solemn the commitment we have made to our veterans. I believe in expanding and improving the VA, not cutting it. I also believe that no veteran should go without housing, a good job, and an education. That’s why I support vastly expanding the …
Abdul El-Sayed is not a current member of Congress, so there is no congressional roll-call record to show. State legislative or local records are not yet compiled.