LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib threw her support behind Abdul El-Sayed on November 8, aligning herself with the most aggressively progressive candidate in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.

Tlaib announced the endorsement at a health-care town hall, citing El-Sayed’s Medicare-for-All push and calling him a champion for “inclusion and dignity” in Michigan communities. The nod gives El-Sayed an ally as he faces state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens—candidates with broader institutional backing inside the party.

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Tlaib’s move is especially notable because Stevens serves alongside her in Congress and has drawn support from other Michigan Democrats, including Reps. Hillary Scholten and Shri Thanedar.

The endorsement also highlights a growing ideological split in the race. El-Sayed has been the sharpest critic of U.S. policy toward Israel’s war in Gaza, a stance that has energized some voters and unsettled others. Tlaib, Congress’s only Palestinian-American member, has been one of his closest ideological allies.

El-Sayed welcomed the endorsement, saying Tlaib “exemplifies true public service.”