Michigan Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is entering the general election under renewed scrutiny after a review of federal campaign records found that his campaign received more than $115,000 from at least 41 people who work for, previously worked for, or held leadership positions with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The findings surfaced the afternoon after El-Sayed narrowly defeated Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) in the Democrat primary. He will face Trump-backed former congressman Mike Rogers, an Army veteran, in November.
The donor list includes several senior CAIR figures, including national Board Chair Manal Fakhoury, national Board Treasurer Eyas Abdeen, national Vice Chair Emad Sabbah, and CAIR-Michigan board member Jukaku Tayeb, El-Sayed’s father-in-law. Tayeb has also been one of the largest financial supporters of a super PAC backing El-Sayed.
The report did not allege that the donations were illegal or that CAIR itself contributed to the campaign. The scrutiny centers on the donors' positions within an organization that has faced long-running allegations about links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Read More: New: The Democrats' El-Sayed Problem Just Got Real, and the Political Price Could Be Huge
'An Embarrassment': Cruz Chides Democrats' Skipping Senate Hearing on Terror, Muslim Brotherhood
Federal prosecutors named CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case but never charged the organization with a crime. The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR as a terrorist organization in 2014, while officials in Florida and Texas have also labeled or designated the group as a terrorist organization. CAIR has repeatedly denied supporting terrorism and says it has condemned attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups.
The campaign-finance findings landed as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing examining the Muslim Brotherhood’s network inside the United States. RedState previously reported that all five Democrats on the subcommittee boycotted the hearing, accusing Republicans of using it to target Muslims.
Cruz asked counterterrorism analyst Kyle Shideler whether El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy concerned him. Shideler pointed directly to Tayeb’s organizational affiliations.
A counterterrorism expert testified today that Abdul El-Sayed’s candidacy for Senate concerns him.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 5, 2026
He cited El-Sayed’s ties to Emgage, its close ties to CAIR, and his father-in-law’s leadership roles in Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations.
Then he confirmed the Muslim… pic.twitter.com/DV9Cqy6UZz
“Yes, sir, it does. To begin with, I look at the connections that his father-in-law has to Brotherhood-linked groups. This includes being the president one time of [CAIR-Michigan], also his presence on the Islamic Society of North America founders committee.”
As Cruz also noted, Shideler "confirmed the Muslim Brotherhood partners with the Democratic Socialists of America."
Shideler testified that the Islamic Society of North America remains part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s U.S. network. He said documents from the Holy Land Foundation case showed that Brotherhood leaders had previously worried about losing control of the organization but appeared to have restored their influence.
He also cited El-Sayed's relationship with Emgage, a political organization that works to mobilize Muslim voters and candidates. Shideler described Emgage as closely connected to CAIR and said its origins and leadership raised additional concerns.
One of the donors identified in the campaign-finance review was CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. Awad faced condemnation after saying he was “happy” to see Hamas break out of Gaza on October 7, 2023, and arguing that Israel did not have a right to self-defense as an occupying power. CAIR later cited statements condemning attacks on civilians, antisemitism, and terrorism.
El-Sayed has maintained other ties to CAIR. He appeared at a CAIR event in 2022 and received payment for a speaking engagement where he criticized Oklahoma’s ban on Sharia law. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment before the campaign-finance report was published.
The nominee’s foreign-policy judgment was already becoming a general-election issue before the donor disclosures. CNN commentator Scott Jennings cited leaked campaign audio in which El-Sayed reportedly hesitated to comment on the death of Iran’s supreme leader because some supporters in Michigan were mourning him.
🚨 SCOTT JENNINGS NAILED IT:
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 5, 2026
"During the campaign, leaked audio from Abdul El Sayed came out saying he was WORRIED about commenting on the death of the Ayatollah because he didn't want to offend his supporters!"
"The world is in chaos and this guy can't figure which side of the…
"You talk about the world being in chaos. During the campaign, leaked audio from Abdul El-Sayed came out in which he was worried about commenting on the death of the Ayatollah because he didn't want to offend his supporters. The world is in chaos, and this guy can't figure out what side of the ball he's on."
The episode crystallized a central question Rogers' campaign is likely to press through November: whose side is El-Sayed on?
Rogers has already signaled that national security will be central to his campaign. The former congressman has contrasted his own military and intelligence experience with El-Sayed's associations, donors, and alliance with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
El-Sayed must now explain why senior officials and board members from CAIR supplied more than $115,000 to his campaign, why his father-in-law holds leadership roles in organizations described by a Senate witness as Brotherhood-linked, and where he stands when those relationships collide with American national-security interests.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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