WASHINGTON – Former US Democrat Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and anewly elected Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex have join hands toelect the nation’s first Muslim governor, as the country heads to amid-term election in November that will decide which party controls theHouse.
Abdul El-Sayed, a 33-year old physician and first-time candidate willface-off former state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer and another Democrat candidatein the primary election to decide which Democrat candidate will contestwith Republican candidate for the governorship of Michigan state.
According to reports, El-Sayed is trailing behind Whitmer, but he hasemerged as a threat to him, especially after winning the support of Sanderswho lost to Hillary Clinton for a Democratic nominee to challenge the thencandidate Donald Trump, who defeated Clinton to win the White House.
The support of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has added more momentum toEl-Sayed’s bid as Democrats experience a new wave of progressive liberalsthat steered her to an unlikely victory against a high-ranking Democrat inthe house.
Although, every public poll of the primary has shown Whitmer leadingEl-Sayed and entrepreneur Shri Thanedar, but with Sanders parachuting intoMichigan this weekend, El-Sayed is gaining momentum.
If El-Sayed wins the Democrat primary, he will most likely face offAttorney General Bill Schuette, who is the favorite to win the Republicanprimary and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Whitmer has a 6-point lead in the primary over El-Sayed and has raised moremoney than him, but El-Sayed the former executive director of the DetroitHealth Department and a public-health expert, has built a significantsupport base by presenting himself as a Sanders-aligned progressivealternative to the more mainstream Whitmer.
According to reports, groups that supported Sanders in 2016 are behindEl-Sayed, as are progressive lawmakers like Ocasio-Cortez. El-Sayed hasalso received donations from Hollywood star Ben Affleck.
El-Sayed hasn’t shied from his Muslim religion in the campaign, and hashappily described the immigrant story of his father moving to the UnitedStates from Egypt and spending time with his stepmother, whose familyhistory in Michigan goes back to before the Civil War.
“Michigan is ground zero for the debate over how you win back power fromTrump and Trumpism,” said Ben Wikler, the Washington director of an NGOcalled MoveOn. Org, which is supporting El-Sayed. – APP