Abdul El‑Sayed, who is contesting the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat from Michigan, released a short video that foregrounds his family’s roots in central Michigan. The clip features his step‑grandparents, Judy Johnson and Jan Johnson, and highlights the candidate’s personal connection to the region.
The video makes no reference to El‑Sayed’s half‑sister, Eman Abdelhadi, who holds a faculty position at the University of Chicago and identifies as a queer Muslim activist. Abdelhadi has been publicly associated with calls for the abolition of police forces and has faced a felony aggravated‑battery charge in Cook County, Illinois, stemming from an alleged incident in which she spat on a state trooper during a protest against ICE.
The university has opened an internal investigation after Abdelhadi described it as a “colonial landlord” and a “police force” in remarks deemed inflammatory. In 2023 she co‑authored a book, Everything for Everyone, with writer M.E. O’Brien, who is characterised as a trans‑communist author. The novel imagines a future without police or traditional nuclear families and includes a scene in which characters seize a university campus.
Public statements and social media activity
During a 2024 interview with Vox, Abdelhadi reflected on the potential collapse of the state and market, saying it would be painful but questioning whether a better future might exist beyond them. She later posted on Twitter that she is “over capitalism, over wage slavery. Over it.” She has also used the phrase “fuck the police” on social media.
Both El‑Sayed and Abdelhadi have voiced criticism of police practices and of U.S. policy toward Israel. El‑Sayed called for police defunding in 2020 and has avoided being labelled a socialist, instead promoting a form of regulated capitalism. He has also supported a Michigan movement that remained uncommitted to President Joe Biden because of his stance on the Gaza conflict.
Political context
El‑Sayed has not referenced his half‑sister in any campaign statements and positions himself to the left of fellow Democratic primary candidate Representative Haley Stevens. If he secures the nomination, he will face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the November general election.
Abdelhadi’s criminal case remains pending in Cook County, and the university investigation is ongoing.