If Abdul El-Sayed isn’t elected governor of Michigan, it will be because he’s modeling his campaign after Bernie Sanders, not because he’s named Abdul.
But since Michigan voted (barely) for Donald Trump in the presidential election, Politico has a piece with a headline asking the question, “Is Michigan Ready for a Governor Named Abdul?” A sub-headline expands, “A young candidate’s biggest hurdle will be convincing Trump voters to back an economic progressive with a Muslim surname.”
The headline-writer could have stopped at “…back an economic progressive.”
Readers might recall that Michigan voters went twice for a man named Barack Hussein Obama In 2012, Obama won Michigan by 450,000 votes. Trump won it by only about 10,000 last year.
Michigan voters even have a history of backing foreigners. Canadian Jennifer Granholm won statewide office there three times, including two terms as governor. George Romney, born in Mexico, won three gubernatorial elections in Michigan.
The real problem for El-Sayed is his progressive politics. Yes, Bernie Sanders won the 2016 presidential primary in Michigan, but it’s hard to see voters statewide going from voting for Trump in 2016 to voting for someone who boldly proclaims on his website “I believe in universal healthcare. Our state must ensure that Michiganders have access to healthcare without worries — about premiums, coverage, or the GOP’s latest antics” (Emphasis in original.)
Another factor voters might consider: El-Sayed has never held elective office. Not that that stopped Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, but he had deep pockets to fund his campaign.
In his first term, Snyder cut taxes, signed right-to-work into law, and was generally pretty conservative. Voters promptly re-elected him in 2014, though his 4-point margin of victory was far below his 18-point landslide of 2010.
If El-Sayed loses, it would behoove him and his supporters to re-examine their policy beliefs and political strategy rather than accuse his opponents of discrimination.
El-Sayed says his campaign has received threats because he’s Muslim (which he’s mentioned in a fundraising pitch). But the only person quoted in the article that judges people on their skin color or religion isn’t opposed to El-Sayed. “It’s so important to me that we have diversity in our government, that we don’t have all white men anymore,” one community activist told the article’s author.
Are there a few voters who will hesitate to vote for a Muslim? Sure, but that’s true in any state.
Before jumping to write a long-form article on why voters might hesitate to support a minority candidate’s run for office, reporters might want to find strong evidence to back them up.
Jason Russell is the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner.
