El-Sayed shares donors with former GOP candidate who targeted opponent with antisemitic attacks
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former Detroit health director and the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, shares nearly two dozen donors with former Republican congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian, whose unsuccessful campaign against Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) drew condemnation over antisemitic attacks against the Jewish lawmaker.
The shared donors contributed more than $61,000 to the two campaigns, according to a Fox News Digital review of federal campaign-finance records. They gave $38,626.20 to El-Sayed’s campaign and $23,144.12 to Bilzerian’s.
Bilzerian lost to Fine in the Republican primary. During the campaign, he released an AI-generated advertisement referring to Fine as a “fat Jew” and made other antisemitic remarks. He also criticized U.S. support for Israel and called for an end to American aid to the Jewish state.
Among the shared donors is Georgia attorney Ibrahim Awad, who gave $7,000 directly to El-Sayed’s campaign in May 2026. In April, he contributed $12,651.88 through a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian. Fox reported that it is unclear how much of that joint contribution was ultimately attributed to Awad.
Awad has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “Holocaust” and criticized Zionism as rooted in “supremacy.” He has also rejected characterizing Palestinian resistance as terrorism.
Another shared donor, Texas businessman Hussein (“Sam”) Mahrouq, gave $3,500 to El-Sayed’s campaign between May 2025 and April 2026. He also contributed more than $1,000 through a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian.
Mahrouq, the owner of Enterprises International, which operates AutoMax and Dollar Rent-A-Car, has donated to other politicians critical of Israel. He also gave $400,000 to American Priorities PAC, which was established this year to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to Fox News Digital.
Muhi Khwaja, co-founder of the American Muslim Community Foundation, also donated to both campaigns, giving $625 to El-Sayed and $26.68 to Bilzerian. Khwaja has criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza and advocated for greater support for Palestinians.
The donor overlap comes as El-Sayed faces continued scrutiny from Jewish Democrats over his positions on Israel and his handling of antisemitism controversies.
On Saturday, El-Sayed apologized for remarks he made following the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. The FBI later determined that the attack, in which Ayman Mohamad Ghazali drove a truck into the synagogue and opened fire before dying by suicide, was a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community.
In a video after the attack, El-Sayed said “hurt people hurt people” while discussing the loss of Ghazali’s family members in an Israeli airstrike. He said Saturday that he was trying to provide context but acknowledged that the comment was inappropriate at the time.
El-Sayed has also faced criticism over his association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who campaigned with and endorsed him. After Piker made remarks suggesting that pro-Israel rhetoric could lead to violence against American Jews, El-Sayed wrote that Piker does not speak for his campaign and described antisemitism as a “scourge.”
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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed shares nearly two dozen donors with former Republican congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian, whose campaign against Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) included antisemitic attacks, such as referring to Fine as a “fat Jew.” These shared donors contributed over $61,000 to both campaigns, with $38,626.20 going to El-Sayed and $23,144.12 to Bilzerian. Notable shared donors include Georgia attorney Ibrahim Awad, who described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “Holocaust,” and Texas businessman Hussein (“Sam”) Mahrouq, who has donated to politicians critical of Israel and a PAC established to counter AIPAC. This donor overlap adds to existing scrutiny of El-Sayed by Jewish Democrats regarding his stance on Israel and his handling of antisemitism controversies, including an apology for remarks made after a Hezbollah-inspired attack on Temple Israel.
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