A powerful voting bloc that helped President Donald Trump win the 2024 presidential election has turned on him ahead of a crucial midterm election, according to a new report.
Republicans now fear they'll lose Senate control as Arab American voters flock to Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and abandon the Trump-endorsed candidate, former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers (R), Politico reported Sunday.
“Once the administration got into the White House, everything we were told kind of flip-flopped,” said Hassan Nehme, who served as the Michigan Republican Party’s vice chair during the 2024 cycle.
“We lost all traction. Republicans are kind of dead in the water.”
Detroit-area Arab Americans are reportedly "fed up" with the ongoing war in Iran, the slow peace process in Gaza, and attacks on El-Sayed they perceive to be blatantly Islamophobic.
Rogers attacks El-Sayed for campaigning with Hasan Piker and circulates reports that seek to link El-Sayed’s father-in-law to the Muslim Brotherhood. Republicans call him by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.
“I most certainly will not support a candidate that is alienating and vilifying my community,” said Faye Nemer, who met with Trump in 2024. “I was fully prepared to support Mr. Rogers. … But after seeing the direction that he chose to proceed in, that’s given me a lot of pause.”
Imam Husham Al-Husainy, slated to offer a benediction at Trump's inauguration until pro-Israel conservatives lobbied against it, now backs El-Sayed.
Amer Ghalib, nominated by Trump to serve as ambassador to Kuwait, warned Republicans to be worried.
“[The GOP] should be more concerned about losing the long-term trust of the Arab American community than about losing the gains they made in 2024," Ghalib said.
“There is a tremendous work that needs to be done … to address people’s concerns and regain their trust."
Rogers’ campaign, when asked for comment, defended his platform.
“Mike Rogers welcomes all Michiganders, regardless of faith, socioeconomic status, or background, to our campaign to Get Michigan Working Again,” said spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet. “The same can’t be said about Abdul El-Sayed, who continues to fan the flames of antisemitism, sympathizes with the terrorist attacker who tried to mass murder 140 kids in a Michigan synagogue, and refuses to disavow Hasan Piker, who calls Jews ‘inbred.’”
El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak responded to Politico's request for comment with scorn.
“Mike Rogers is resorting to cheap attacks to distract from his deep record as a corrupt career politician who has taken millions from Big Pharma,” Wozniak said in a statement.
“Michiganders see right through it, and they’re not going to let Mike Rogers distract from the fact he’s spent thirty years in Washington making himself and his billionaire donors richer while selling out working families.”