Federal campaign‑finance records reveal that Tayeb Jukaku, the father‑in‑law of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed, has contributed a total of $300,000 to the super‑PAC "Fighting for Michigan". The donations were made in three equal instalments of $100,000 each on 3 February, 31 March and 22 June.
Largest donors and the PAC’s spending power
The $300,000 from Jukaku makes him the single largest individual donor to the PAC, matching a $300,000 contribution from the Institute for Middle East Understanding – a George Soros‑funded nonprofit linked to former Palestine Liberation Organization legal adviser Diana Buttu. The influx of cash has allowed the PAC to launch a multimillion‑dollar independent‑expenditure campaign in support of El‑Sayed, who has built his platform on the promise to remove money from politics.
Conflict between rhetoric and funding
Critics point out the apparent contradiction between El‑Sayed’s anti‑money stance and the sizeable backing he receives from a donor who sits on the boards of organisations named as unindicted co‑conspirators in the 2005 USA v. Holy Land Foundation terrorism‑financing case. During a primary debate, his opponent Haley Stevens suggested that El‑Sayed was trying to conceal Jukaku’s involvement, questioning who was putting money into the candidate’s own campaign.
Tax return disclosure
Following the funding revelations, El‑Sayed released two pages of his 2025 tax return. The documents show a total income of $686,069, comprising $292,000 listed as "additional income" and $262,000 in capital gains. The partial release omitted the sources of these earnings, a notable omission given the candidate’s public calls for greater government transparency. The disclosed income places him in the top 1 % of earners in Michigan, a stark contrast to the working‑class image he projects.
Other notable contributions
- Zubair Kazi, a fast‑food magnate, gave $50,000 to the PAC through an offshore company registered in the Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction often criticised for facilitating corporate tax avoidance.
- Pramila Jayapal’s Medicare for All PAC contributed $250,000.
Both donations sit uneasily with El‑Sayed’s pledge to stop large corporations from hiding assets to evade taxes.
Policy contradictions
El‑Sayed advocates for a single‑payer, Medicare‑for‑All system. Yet his wife, psychiatrist Sarah Jukaku, does not accept Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance in her practice – a practice El‑Sayed has previously condemned in others as dismissive of low‑income patients.
The convergence of substantial private funding, selective tax‑return disclosure and personal policy inconsistencies has intensified scrutiny of El‑Sayed’s campaign as the primary election approaches.