by
Any statewide political campaign is a scary leap, though typically not the way Dr. Abdul El-Sayed of Detroit experiences it.
The first-time candidate, who seeks the Democratic nomination for governor in August's primary, "has already inspired death threats serious enough to report to the FBI," Lou Blouin writes in Hour Detroit.
El-Sayed, a 33-year-old former Detroit health director recruited in 2014 by Mayor Mike Duggan, mounts "the first serious gubernatorial candidacy by a Muslim in any state, the magazine's associate editor adds in a January cover article. It says:
His campaign manager, a veteran of several memorable Democratic primaries, admits he finds it surprising that the alt-right websites are busy with misinformation this early in the campaign. It's the reason that, for now, they're keeping all but two of their staff's names out of the media and the location of the campaign office private. They recently got El-Sayed a bodyguard.
Abdul El-Sayed: "I'm relatively young, relatively brown and relatively Muslim."
The young politician, born and raised in Metro Detroit, is the son of an Egyptian engineer who immigrated here in 1978 and an Egyptian doctor (his mother). Blouin describes El-Sayed as displaying "so-what nonchalance" about his ethnicity:
El-Sayed’s faith, for all that others make of it, isn’t something he often talks about — other than being a matter-of-fact detail in his biography.
It is, in many ways, a quintessential American story, dotted with themes common to the American ethos and mythos: immigrant success, the melting pot, a happy childhood in the suburbs, divorce. . . .
In fact, El-Sayed frequently uses humor to undercut the oft-made argument that his background is a disqualifier.
"I'm relatively young, relatively brown and relatively Muslim" has become an irreverent, immovable part of an introductory speech he's already given to crowds in nearly 100 cities, 50 counties across Michigan. He owns his faith, and by doing so, aims to make other people comfortable with it.
"When we talk about him being Muslim, and how that could be received by certain elements of Michigan, we say 'the only way out is through,'" campaign manager Max Glass explains. "So we’re not afraid to talk about it. We're not going to hide it or avoid it. Obviously, we can't."
The early Democratic front-runner is Gretchen Whitmer, who was in the same magazine last June as a "Political Rising Star." The former Senate minority leader is backed by 22 Democratic legislators, ex-Gov. Jim Blanchard, some unions and Emily's List. The most influential unions -- such as the United Auto Workers, Michigan Education Association and Service Employees International Union -- haven't endorsed yet.
The magazine writer sees the newcomer as a 2018 version of Bernie Sanders challenging Hilary Clinton:
El-Sayed easily passes for a progressive outsider who’s not supposed to win. His support for single-payer health care, reliably left positions on social issues, and ability to relate almost anything to the growing divide between rich and poor.
Magazine photo by Matt LeVere.
Hour's associate editor isn't alone in being reminded of the presidential candidate from Vermont who beat Clinton in their party's Michigan primary. "A growing slate of Democratic operatives and young progressive organizers who made their bones on Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential primary campaigns are lining up in 2018 behind another political insurgent, Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed," Gregory Krieg of CNN reports Jan. 4.
The local journalist, who came to Hour last year from Michigan Radio, is surprised by talk of mortality by "the sturdy, muscular man who is by all indications in perfect health."
In the course of a 45-minute conversation, the subject of death — not an abstract death, but his own — actually comes up twice. He tells me he’s always thought he was going to die young, and when asked to explain more, just says "it's always been a feeling." . . .
Given the context, the statement rings out as more than just an existential observation.
The candidate -- whose wife, Dr. Sarah Jukaku El-Sayed, last Nov. 26 delivered their first child, a daughter named Emmalee -- devotes six days a week to campaign appearances and fund-raising calls. For more information or to get involved, visit his campaign site.
These Facebook photos are from December (top) and October:
The candidate joins Detroit Young Democrats at their holiday party.
Taking a selfie with campaign supporters last fall.
