Obama Campaigns for El-Sayed in Detroit as Michigan Early Voting Opens
Former President Barack Obama headlined a rally in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, for Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan. The event, held at Cass Technical High School before thousands of people, was also a get-out-the-vote event for Jocelyn Benson, the state's secretary of state and the Democratic candidate for governor.
The date carried weight of its own. Oct. 24 was the first day of early voting in Michigan, a period in which residents can cast ballots before Election Day. The general election is on Nov. 3.
El-Sayed, a doctor and former Wayne County health official, won the August Democratic primary against Rep. Haley Stevens. He will face Mike Rogers in the November general election. According to The Guardian, Obama had stayed on the sidelines during the primary, and the Detroit event was his first public appearance in support of El-Sayed's campaign.
Obama told the crowd that El-Sayed was "fighting for change, real change, that will get money out of politics and put money in your pocket." He also said El-Sayed would "finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable healthcare to every single American," according to the same report.
Crowd figures were not the only measure of the event's size. The Detroit News reported that thousands of people were waiting in line at about 2:30 p.m. to enter the school. The rally had been scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., according to the Detroit Free Press, and attendees filed into the school gym. Obama also spoke briefly to an overflow room inside the building, the Detroit News reported in video coverage.
The El-Sayed campaign had said in early October that the rally would also feature other top Democratic candidates in Michigan. The campaign's website describes his platform as including passing Medicare for All, a federal health insurance program for all residents. The campaign has also listed a further event, a Latinos for Abdul rally in Detroit on Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.
