Abdul El-Sayed says Kamala Harris' visit for his Michigan US Senate race is about Democratic unity

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed said Tuesday that he wants Kamala Harris' midterm campaign stop in Detroit to unify Democrats in the key swing state where their party's factions were on full display in a hotly contested primary earlier this year — and in Harris' 2024 presidential defeat.

“We're building an electoral coalition here,” El-Sayed said, speaking about the economy hours ahead of a planned appearance with the former vice president.

An unapologetic progressive, El-Sayed downplayed his differences with Harris over the Biden administration's support for U.S. military aid to Israel. El-Sayed has called Israel's military actions in Gaza a genocide against Palestinians. Israel rejects that position, but it aligns El-Sayed with many voters in Michigan's large Arab American community and with progressives who withheld their votes from Harris in 2024, when the state tipped narrowly to Republican Donald Trump.

That election “ended where it did because we could not find the places of agreement to be able to bring people together or move in the direction that we need to move,” El-Sayed said, emphasizing that he and Harris both want to help voters who are struggling economically.

Harris, the first Black vice president, remains popular among Black voters who anchor the Democratic base in Detroit and who leaned in favor of El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, in the August primary. El-Sayed said Harris, who will attend a roundtable on Black maternal health with him and separately join an event hosted by the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, is a critical advocate in helping him close ranks as he tries to defeat Republican Mike Rogers.

“Her presence here speaking to communities that were really empowered by her voice throughout her political career, I think will help us to continue to bring our coalition together,” El-Sayed said.

The Democrat's matchup against Rogers, a former congressman, will help determine control of the Senate for the final two years of Trump's presidency. If Democrats hold the seat, which was opened by Sen. Gary Peters' announced retirement, they'd still need to win at least four more currently held by Republicans to flip the chamber. A Rogers victory would narrow Democrats' path to a majority.

Rogers’ campaign framed Harris’ visit as a sign of weakness for both Democrats.

“Abdul is so desperate that he’s parachuting Kamala Harris into Michigan to save his flailing campaign,” said Alyssa Brouillet, Rogers’ spokesperson.

Rogers has been campaigning in Detroit, a predominantly Black city where his campaign is optimistic he can pick up support from voters hesitant to support El-Sayed.

Black voters could prove especially critical as El-Sayed also faces pressure among white Jewish voters who typically back Democrats.

“Jews in Michigan are currently scared” by their Senate options, said Barry Goodman, a Democratic National Committee member and major Michigan fundraiser in the party. Goodman backed Stevens in the primary.

The race is also seen as another referendum on progressives' viability in battleground races. El-Sayed is running to the left of the Democratic Party establishment, including advocating for universal healthcare.

Goodman described himself and many other Jewish Democrats as “holding our noses and voting for Abdul” because they “believe in the Democratic ticket and they believe that one man can help win the Senate but can’t destroy the Senate.” Other moderates, Goodman said, are still deciding whether to back Rogers or sit out the Senate race.

El-Sayed has attempted to soften his approach on Israel and Gaza. He has apologized for some past controversial comments and said he is committed to Jewish safety.

For Harris, the trip comes as questions swirl about her intentions to run for president again. Under the Democratic National Committee's recently revised nominating calendar, Michigan now will hold the fifth presidential preference primary in 2028.

It's unclear whether Harris will use the trip to restate or recalibrate her past statements on Israel. But campaigning with El-Sayed is notable, nonetheless, given her past tensions with Democrats' left flank.

“She probably figures she won't lose her establishment folks, so maybe she makes gains to her left,” Goodman said.

Harris has said she’s in no rush to announce whether she will run in 2028. But ahead of Election Day this November, she also has campaign stops planned in Nevada and Georgia, two other important states on the political map.

GaNun is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

FILE - Abdul El-Sayed, center, arrives for a news conference at the Spirit of Detroit shortly after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Aug. 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

FILE - Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event, Aug. 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees star Aaron Judge had an injection in his sore right calf, putting his status for the postseason in even more jeopardy.

Before the Yankees faced the Rays in a day-night doubleheader Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said Judge had a platelet poor plasma injection during the team’s off-day on Monday following its return from Arizona.

Judge was put on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained soleus muscle, which is in the lower part of his calf. Boone did not say what grade the strain is but described it as “moderate.”

“We’re planning on him not being a part of that but we’re also at time of the year, you hear all the time with injuries, you give ranges two to four weeks, four to six weeks,” Boone said. “The range is for a reason and we’re at a point of the year where obviously we push it a little bit if that was in play but that’s a week away. I’m not expecting it, but I’m not ruling it out either.”

Judge is eligible to be activated for the regular-season finale on Sunday against Baltimore but will not do much activity in the next few days.

Judge injured his calf during last Wednesday’s game at Minnesota. The eight-time All-Star was lifted in the sixth inning for a pinch hitter because of discomfort in his leg and said at the time it was a precautionary move.

Boone said symptoms persisted and an MRI revealed the strain.

Judge was 4 for 23 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games after returning Sept. 8 from a broken rib, which kept him out of the lineup for more than three months.

Judge is hitting .241 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in just 66 games this year. He hit a long homer on Sept. 14 in Minnesota and had the next game off before straining his calf.

The Yankees entered Tuesday with a 48-41 record in the games Judge has missed and a 41-25 mark in games he has played. New York also began Tuesday a loss away from being eliminated from the AL East race, setting up a second straight wild-card series against the Red Sox next week.

"We’ve played much of the year without him and for the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job,” Boone said. “So guys are used to it. Obviously you always want your best player in the mix, but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win. I think that expectation doesn’t change with or without him. We’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge walks back to the dugout after the bottom of the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Injured New York Yankees' Aaron Judge sits with teammates in the dugout during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge reacts after striking out during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)