Michigan Senate nominee El-Sayed apologizes over synagogue attack remarks
Why it matters: The fallout has strained ties with Jewish Democrats as he faces Mike Rogers in a race that could sway Senate control.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed apologized Saturday to the state’s Jewish Democratic Caucus for comments he made after a March attack on a synagogue in a Detroit suburb. Speaking after addressing the caucus at the party convention in Lansing, El-Sayed said he had tried to provide context by noting that the attacker had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon, but acknowledged it was the wrong moment to do so. Critics had argued the remarks excused the violence. El-Sayed, who defeated Haley Stevens in the primary, has been trying to mend party divisions and move beyond disputes over alleged antisemitism ahead of his general election race against Republican Mike Rogers.