After weeks of assailing Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in rallies across the country, President Donald Trump on Sunday is bringing his midterm barnstorming to Michigan, where Republicans see a chance to pick up an open seat on Election Day.
El-Sayed, a onetime public health official, faces Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman backed by Trump in the Nov. 3 race to succeed retiring Democrat Gary Peters.
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Former President Barack Obama, center, joined by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson raise hands during a campaign event at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan Democratic candidate, for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers appears during a campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Sterling Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
The Republican president has described El-Sayed as a “jihadist," rhetoric that Democrats denounce as an attack on his faith. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim senator if elected.
Trump’s planned visit to Port Huron follows former Democrat President Barack Obama's appearances Saturday in Michigan and Ohio for his party's candidates. It will be Trump's latest stop on a packed campaign schedule to bolster Republicans on the midterm ballot as the GOP is weighed down by voters' frustration with the economy and the war with Iran.
Unlike Trump’s earlier trips to Republican-controlled states where his party is on defense, the GOP has not won a Senate race in Michigan for more than three decades. El-Sayed has taunted Trump, encouraging him to come to Michigan in the belief that a visit would backfire on Rogers.
“Donald, if you’re watching, don’t wuss out, man,” El-Sayed said. The progressive, who won a divisive primary in August, has said the country needs to “turn the page on Donald Trump.”
The campaign has been one of the most contentious this year. Republicans have portrayed El-Sayed, who was born in the United States to Egyptian immigrant parents, as a dangerous radical. Trump falsely claims that the Democratic nominee is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group founded in the 1920s in Egypt that has inspired Islamist political movements around the Mideast. In January, Trump's administration labeled three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.
During their second and final general election campaign debate, Rogers questioned El-Sayed's loyalty to the United States.
“Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?” Rogers asked.
El-Sayed said that questioning was “shameful.”
“I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray,” he said.
Rogers denied that his criticisms were rooted in religion, saying “you can pray any way you want.”
Trump has referred to El-Sayed as “Mohammed” and said he “goes back to the days of the jihad.”
El-Sayed has faced criticism for his own rhetoric, particularly when he said “hurt people hurt people” after an attack on a synagogue in the Detroit area. The attacker had lost four relatives in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon the week earlier. El-Sayed later apologized, saying he was not trying to justify what happened.
“To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I’m really sorry," he said. "That was not my intention.”
The significance of El-Sayed’s candidacy has grown beyond Michigan, with Republicans casting him as a symbol of a radicalizing Democratic Party. Meanwhile, progressives hope that he will help demonstrate their clout in a swing state, which could shape how the 2028 presidential primary unfolds.
El-Sayed previously served as a public health official in Detroit’s Wayne County and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018.
Rogers lost the 2024 Senate race to then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin by less than a percentage point.
Former President Barack Obama, center, joined by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson raise hands during a campaign event at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan Democratic candidate, for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers appears during a campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Sterling Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians began voting in Sunday’s polarizing presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, a contest that will determine whether the U.S. will significantly expand its growing influence in Latin America.
Polls ahead of the vote showed the two candidates, who need more than 50% of the vote to become Brazil’s next leader in January, in a neck-and-neck race. The election pits the left-of-center veteran politician Lula against Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and the son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Flávio Bolsonaro bested Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round of the election earlier this month. However, more than 33 million voters out of nearly 160 million did not turn out even though voting is compulsory.
Bolsonaro and Lula have opposing ideological views on issues ranging from U.S.-Brazil relations and climate change to social welfare.
A win for Bolsonaro would signify a pivot to the right by Latin America's most populous country and its largest economy, in a year when Trump allies have notched up victories in Chile, Peru and Colombia. A victory for Lula would leave Brazil and Mexico with left-of-center leaders.
In many ways, Brazil’s runoff vote is another tight rematch between the country’s two polarized political forces that trigger passion as much as loathing. Four years ago, Lula beat Bolsonaro’s father by the narrowest margin since the country’s return to democracy in 1985.
Lula, who first governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, has faced a tough reelection battle because of concerns about the cost of living and security. Bolsonaro made a tough-on-crime approach the cornerstone of his campaign and pledged to bring down food costs.
Both have been hit by corruption suspicions involving family members and allies, with Bolsonaro implicated in a sprawling scandal rocking Brazil. Lula previously spent more than a year in prison on corruption convictions that were eventually annulled.
Bolsonaro’s admission that he accepted about $12 million from disgraced former banker Daniel Vorcaro to produce a film on his father’s life has cast a shadow over his campaign. He is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in connection with the case.
As Bolsonaro voted at a school in Rio de Janeiro around 8 a.m., his supporters shouted “Lula, thief, your place is in prison” while Lula’s supporters chanted in his support.
“The time of real change has arrived,” Bolsonaro told journalists. “Brazil can’t go on another four years on its current trajectory.”
In the lead-up to the vote, Lula frequently portrayed Bolsonaro, whose father is under house arrest for attempting a coup, as a threat to democracy. Bolsonaro has promised to seek an amnesty for his father if elected.
The next president will name at least three Supreme Court justices out of 11 due to upcoming retirements. Bolsonaro has long taken aim at the country's top court — which has been rocked by a corruption scandal of its own — and promised to push for judiciary reform.
Lula, trying to lure undecided voters, has invested in costly incentives since he lost the first round of voting. His government’s most recent moves have been endorsing a debt relief program for small businesses and promising free public transportation on weekends. A win for the incumbent came with the Senate's approval of the end of the six-day working week — a popular proposal backed by the government.
Lula thanked his voters for an outpouring of support in recent days as he voted in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo, where he kicked off his political career as a union leader in the 1960s.
“It is a lot of generosity, a lot of care, a lot of love. I will be forever grateful,” Lula said.
Lula voters turned out to the polls Sunday driven by his history of supporting marginalized people and working to lift Brazilians out of poverty.
Luzia da Souza, who runs a bar in a middle-class neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, is a long-time Lula supporter.
“Lula is a man of the people and he knows what it’s like to be poor,” she said. "I find it impossible not to vote for him.”
Anderson Falcão, a 43-year-old journalist in Brasilia who sported a red shirt in support of Lula, said he worried about Bolsonaro’s long-term political vision, which he called “exclusionary.”
“It’s a project that harms the less fortunate, harms the worker, women, the forest, the Amazon,” he said.
“It’s a project of destruction of what we understood Brazil could one day be and what we, with great difficulty, brick by brick, tried to build. … That’s why I’m voting for Lula, and for me, this vote has a lot of meaning.”
Bolsonaro voters, many who wore yellow and green Brazil jerseys in support of the senator, said they cast their ballots for change.
Fabianne Borges Santoro, a 45-year-old physiotherapist who lives in the neighborhood where Bolsonaro voted, once voted for Lula’s party but now associates it with corruption.
“The Workers’ Party has been in power for a long time and the voice of the people is saying that we need change to see improvements in security and the cost of living,” she said. “Things are really expensive and taxes are too high.”
Davi Vidal de Negreiros Nobrega Leite Andrade, a 20-year-old computer science student in Brasilia, said he prefers Bolsonaro’s economic plans over what Lula has done. “I just don’t think Brazil deserves the presidency that it has,” he said.
Kelvin Gomes Pimental, a 28-year-old data analyst in Brasilia, voted for a third-party candidate in the first round, making his vote a decisive one in this election. He ultimately decided to vote for Lula.
Although he said Lula was not a perfect candidate, he ultimately disagreed more with Bolsonaro’s approach.
“It’s not even about Flávio himself. It’s also very much about the management of the other Bolsonaro government. He wanted to stage a coup,” he said. “These issues scare me a little.”
Alisson Freitas, 67, who works at a bakery in São Paulo, said he didn’t vote in the first round because he was working that day too far from his polling station. But he requested the early shift this time to support Lula.
“I don’t think his government did well this time, things are expensive, but under Jair Bolsonaro it was much worse,” Freitas said. “
Lula criticized the U.S. president before Brazil's election, speaking about the risks of U.S. intervention in Brazilian elections after the Trump administration imposed high tariffs against Brazilian exports and classified drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Experts say the moves may have been intended to make Lula look soft on crime.
Flávio Bolsonaro has touted his proximity to the White House and insisted that Brazil needs to strike better deals with the Trump administration, including in the rare minerals economy. Brazil estimates that its deposits hold up to 21 million tons, second only to China. He denies he's being helped by the U.S. government.
Voting in Brazil is conducted electronically and the result is usually available within hours after polling stations close at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT) in Brasilia.
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Brigida reported from Brasilia.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro give a thumbs during the runoff presidential election in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izuierdo)
People walk along the beach during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, waves after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, wears glasses given to him by a supporter after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, displays a Brazilian flag before voting in a presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Voters line outside a polling station up during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A supporter of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, lines up at a polling station during a presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro give a thumbs during the runoff presidential election in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Voters wait to cast their ballots during a presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)
Red T-shirts depicting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, and yellow T-shirts depicting opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro hang for sale outside a building ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff election in Autazes, Amazonas state, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, who is running for reelection, and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin raise their arms in unison at the end of their final campaign rally, a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, center, leaves after his final campaign rally a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro cheer during his final campaign rally a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)
A girl standing on a man's shoulders reaches out amid a crowd of supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, during his final campaign rally, a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
