A Democratic candidate is trying to clarify his past remarks regarding law enforcement. Abdul El-Sayed, a 41-year-old former gubernatorial candidate in 2018 and a member of Biden’s Health Care Unification Task Force, is running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
With backing from figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, El-Sayed leads establishment Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens in the polls as the Michigan primary approaches on August 4.
Since starting his Senate campaign in April 2025, El-Sayed has been attempting to mitigate the fallout from his previous statements about the police. In a recent interview, he claimed, “I never actually called for defunding, never have I.”
However, records show otherwise. Before launching his campaign, he deleted numerous tweets, including one where he stated that cities spend excessively on policing while underfunding essential services like education and health care. He argued that these misallocations are what the #Defund movement aims to rectify.
In another tweet, he linked police funding to social issues, stating, “#GeorgeFloyd and hundreds of other Black people are being murdered because police are overfunded…” He has explicitly called for defunding the police in several interviews as confirmed by CNN’s KFile.
For instance, in a June 2020 interview, he said, “I believe we need to cut funding to the police…to defund the means to incarcerate someone or kill them on the streets.” In a separate interview, he explained that “defunding the police means disinvesting in the tools that put people in jail…” and advocated redirecting funds to community resources.
El-Sayed further stated, “I want to refund taxpayer money used for police munitions and redirect it to public health, libraries, and schools.” As evidence of his stance grew, his campaign suggested that his views had evolved. A spokesperson remarked that “simple words are never enough” to address the complexities of criminal justice reform.
When pressed directly about his support for defunding the police, El-Sayed deflected and noted he deleted older tweets to keep the conversation focused on broader issues that affect Michigan residents.
Interestingly, his current campaign themes appear to shift from policing to spending priorities, particularly regarding support for Israel. During a recent debate, he remarked on the influence of AIPAC on his opponents, emphasizing that taxpayers’ money should be spent for domestic needs rather than military support abroad.
El-Sayed, a target of criticism from the Michigan Republican Party, has been labeled a radical by some. A senior advisor described him as a “terrorist sympathizer” advocating “radical Marxist policies,” which include Medicare for All and calls to defund the police.
