Barack Obama appeared alongside Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed to praise his “big guns” in a last-ditch push to voters ahead of elections in one of the most contentious midterm races in recent years.
The former president, joined by El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson at Cass Technical High School for a get-out-the-vote rally, told the Detroit crowd on Saturday that El-Sayed wears T-shirts because he’s really strong and that he is fighting for “real change.”
“Abdul’s as Michigan as it gets. Abdul was born here. He was raised here. Parents in the auto industry. Played football in Bloomfield [Hills]. Captain of his high school football, lacrosse, and wrestling team,” Obama said.
“I mean, he’s just a jock, you know. He, like, you see those big guns? That’s why he wears those T-shirts, you know,” he added.
Obama went on to commend El-Sayed for taking on “crony capitalism.”
“We’re clear about the choice in this election,” he said. “Abdul is fighting for change, real change, change that will bring an end to this war. Change that will get money out of politics and put money in your pocket. Change that will finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable healthcare to every single American.”
“He’s taking on crony capitalism and corrupt politics that only benefits people with enough money and power to game a broken system in Washington at your expense,” he continued. “You hear people say this is somehow radical. What is radical about that?”
Obama’s appearance at the rally is his latest public show of support for the Michigan Democrat, who is in a competitive race against Republican Mike Rogers.
Rogers has been making an unprecedented push to win over Michigan’s black voters, according to Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who told Politico that Rogers is engaging the community “harder and more successfully” than any Republican she can remember. Her comments underscore growing concerns that El-Sayed has yet to repair the divisions left by a bruising primary campaign. In the Democratic primary, El-Sayed underperformed with the black vote.
In a Sunday interview, Rogers argued that his opponent can count out key Democrat voting blocs ahead of the midterm election, some of whom he says are turning to his campaign.
“Jewish Democrats say, ‘We can’t vote for him,’” Rogers said. “African Americans in Detroit and Pontiac and Flint say, ‘We can’t vote for him.’”
“The Democrat coalitions that we have are the fastest-growing coalitions we have,” he added.
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