Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., transferred $1 million Friday to a joint fundraising committee supporting Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, increasing her financial commitment to a race that could help determine control of the chamber.
The contribution came as Ocasio-Cortez campaigned in Michigan for El-Sayed, a fellow progressive and former public health official who is running against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers, reports The New York Times.
"I'm not waking up on November 4th wishing I did more to combat the smears aimed at Abdul," Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement to the Times. "I'm leaving everything I can on the field."
The money went to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund, a joint fundraising effort involving El-Sayed's campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee.
The transfer represents a substantial commitment by a House member to a Senate contest outside her home state. It also underscores Ocasio-Cortez's view that an El-Sayed victory would strengthen both the Democratic Party and the broader progressive movement.
"If Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere," she said at a recent fundraiser for him in New York City.
El-Sayed and Rogers are locked in a close race in Michigan, a key battleground in the fight for control of the Senate.
Ocasio-Cortez's involvement comes amid speculation about her political future, including a possible presidential campaign in 2028 or a challenge to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. She could also seek reelection to the House.
Ocasio-Cortez's political alliance with El-Sayed dates to 2018, when she endorsed his unsuccessful campaign for Michigan governor and traveled to the state to campaign with him. She also supported him in this year's contested Democrat Senate primary.
Federal filings submitted Thursday showed that Ocasio-Cortez raised $4.7 million in the third quarter and entered October with nearly $17.4 million in cash on hand.
The contribution followed joint appearances by Ocasio-Cortez and El-Sayed across Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of his "Shouldn't Be This Hard" bus tour. They focused largely on economic issues, drawing crowds in conservative communities and Democratic-leaning Marquette.
El-Sayed promoted Medicare for All and efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics, casting himself as an alternative to the political establishment. He also urged supporters to reach out to voters who backed President Donald Trump.
"We can spend our time trying to indict people for a bad decision they cannot yet take back," El-Sayed said, "or inviting them to a decision they have yet to make."
Rogers, meanwhile, campaigned with Vice President JD Vance in Monroe, where both criticized El-Sayed.
"Abdul El-Sayed cannot be allowed anywhere near the United States Senate," Rogers said. "He is the most extreme, dangerous candidate to ever run for the United States Senate."
Vance described El-Sayed's criticism of systemic racism and U.S. foreign policy as "hatred," accusing him of being ungrateful to a country that had enabled his success.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, responded that he understood "how deep and profound the gift of this country" is.
"Don't lecture me about America. I know America," he said.
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