HUGE! Top Democrat Leaders Pen Op-Ed in Prominent Michigan Paper – WILL NOT VOTE for Radical Abdul El-Sayed Saying, “Our gravest concerns involve El-Sayed’s Associations with Figures Who have Excused or Minimized Terrorism”

The Detroit News is Michigan’s second largest paper with a daily circulation of over 51,000 readers.

Lon Johnson, a former Michigan Democratic Party chair, and David Kramer, a longtime Democratic strategist who has previously helped elect Democrats to the Senate penned an Op-ed this week in the Detroit News telling Democrats to refrain from voting for El-Sayed and instead “leave it blank”.

The two Democrat leaders wrote:

Supporting a nominee after a hard-fought primary is an act of party unity, not a surrender of principle. Democrats asked to set aside their differences for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed had every right to expect something in return: a commitment to earn their trust, address legitimate concerns and unite a party whose nomination he won with less than 50% of the vote.

“He has failed that test.”

The two added:

“Our gravest concerns involve El-Sayed’s associations with figures who have excused or minimized terrorism, his reluctance to unequivocally condemn dangerous rhetoric and his support of extreme policies.”

The Detroit News later reported on the Democrat defectors this year for Mike Rogers, including prominent Jewish leaders in the state.

“…Prominent Jewish Democrats have come out for Rogers. This week, Gary Torgow, head of the Jewish Federations of America, and Larry Deitch, a former University of Michigan regent, wrote letters to The Detroit News denouncing El-Sayed’s equivocation on Israel and backing the Republican.”

And there was a rally last week at Temple Israel in Michigan for Mike Rogers. Temple Israel in West Bloomfield was the scene of an Islamist terrorist attack. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove a truck into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, injuring a security guard in what authorities described as a targeted attack against Jews.

El-Sayed condemned the violence at the time, saying there was “never a justification for attacking innocent people,” but added that “violence is a cycle” and “hurt people hurt people.”

NYT: “‘I Made a Mistake’: El-Sayed Apologizes for Comment About Synagogue Attack” https://t.co/8nq2xq8XN3 via @NYTimes

— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) August 29, 2026

On Saturday, he apologized for including those remarks.

“I made a mistake,” El-Sayed said. “I should have issued a statement, of course condemning it, and it just should have been the full stop.”

“If my statement caused pain, I’m sorry. That was not what I intended.”

It wasn’t enough. Democrats, including Jews and black voters, are supporting Mike Rogers.

There are some sane voices left in the Democrat party, after all. But they are quickly being pushed out.