A $1 million transfer

Ocasio-Cortez transferred $1 million on Friday, 16 October, to support Abdul El-Sayed's bid for the Michigan Senate seat. She confirmed the donation in a statement and at an event in the Detroit area, and the New York Times first reported the transfer. The amount is unusually large for a House member to give to a Senate race in a different state. Ocasio-Cortez, who is weighing a potential 2028 presidential run, said she wanted to show that "the cavalry is coming" and described the money as coming from her own campaign.

“I'm not waking up on November 4th wishing I did more to combat the smears aimed at Abdul. I'm leaving everything I can on the field.”

The statement tied the donation to attacks on El-Sayed that focus largely on his Muslim faith, his Egyptian heritage and his support for Palestine. The November 4 date refers to the 3 November midterm election. At the Detroit-area event she added a reason for the gift.

“And the only reason I'm doing that is because I see the energy of each and every one of you stepping up to make an effort.”

Campaign trail

Ocasio-Cortez has spent this week campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan. She joined him on a bus tour of the Upper Peninsula, a conservative-leaning area, before hosting three events in Detroit on Friday. Reporting describes El-Sayed's populist progressive message as gaining traction with voters. A Real Clear Politics average of high-quality polls puts him 2.6 percentage points ahead of Republican Mike Rogers. The two candidates also stressed economic issues on the trail, aimed at disaffected Trump voters. Recent polls show broad public disapproval of Trump's handling of the economy and of the fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, and Trump's approval ratings are at a career low ahead of the midterms.

Vance trades insults

On Thursday, 15 October, Vice President JD Vance called El-Sayed "a little weasel" during a stop in Monroe in support of Rogers. He said El-Sayed should show gratitude to the country that gave him everything. Later that day in Marquette, El-Sayed responded that the insult fit a wolverine, the mascot of his alma mater, better than a weasel. He noted that Vance is a graduate of Ohio State, and he listed Michigan's nicknames before saying the state would never become Buckeyes.

Coalition doubts

Representative Haley Stevens, El-Sayed's moderate primary rival, endorsed him soon after their bruising 4 August primary but has done little to campaign alongside him. Stevens said El-Sayed is building a "new coalition" and that some supporters, including Black and Jewish voters who backed her in the primary, are resisting it. She said it was not her place to push skeptical supporters into joining. Stevens also described Ocasio-Cortez and El-Sayed's bus tour in pointed terms.

“They're unafraid to take binary positions and not be in the business of making everyone happy.”

El-Sayed said he is having conversations about another visit from Senator Bernie Sanders and that he is "building a big, broad coalition." A Sanders spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Flint and the message

The Irish Times reports that El-Sayed is running a tour titled "It Shouldn't be This Hard" and that rally addresses are given to attendees only the day before. Events in small venues fill quickly, and their content spreads widely online within hours. The paper frames the race around health care costs and economic decline in cities such as Flint, where voters may help decide control of the US Senate. The midterm vote is on 3 November.