Former President Barack Obama addressed supporters and Democrats at a rally featuring at Cass Technical High School on Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit, Mich. As pundits and commentators question whether Michigan’s Democratic Party base is unified ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, the party brought one of its most formidable communicators – former President Barack Obama – into the Great Lakes state on Saturday to energize voters for Abdul El-Sayed, Jocelyn Benson and the party’s entire 2026 slate.
El-Sayed, the nominee for the U.S. Senate, is in a tight battle against Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. Meanwhile, Benson, the current secretary of state, is up against Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, a race in which several polls show Benson ahead. The Senate race, however, has become contentious and a bellwether contest for Democrats, who must hold the seat this November if the party wants to take back control of the upper chamber of Congress.
The former president called for Michiganders to hold strong and vote for the entire Democratic ticket – including El-Sayed – despite calls from some in the Black and Jewish community to leave the U.S. Senate section blank. “Abdul and Jocelyn understand that this election is not about them or you, but about we,” Obama said. “It’s not just about economics. It’s not just about inflation. It’s not just about policy. It’s about values. There’s a moral component to the choices that we face right now, and we are not going to fix a system that’s broken, we won’t unrig our economy, so long as we have a culture that anything goes; where what is true and what’s false is poured into social media and money is the measure of our worth. … That’s part of what is going on right now. We have lost touch with those things that really matter in our life.”
Obama also offered praise for other Democratic candidates, several members of whom – Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit and 10th Congressional District nominee Christina Hines – also gave remarks. Gilchrist is seeking Benson’s current post of secretary of state, while Savit seeks the position of attorney general, currently held by Attorney General Dana Nessel. Hines will face Michael Bouchard Jr. in the 10th District, which is James’ current seat.
It would be a significant political and historical signpost if El-Sayed can defeat Rogers in just over a week on Election Day: He would become the first Muslim U.S. senator, but it would also notch a serious victory in the progressive movement led by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, in a state that twice voted for President Donald Trump.
Obama’s presence in Michigan and his interest in the race were telling. El-Sayed has struggled to win decisive support among Black voters in Detroit during his primary race with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham. Many of them have come back into El-Sayed’s coalition for the general election, but Rogers has said his outreach to Detroit and Black voters is paying off and that his campaign is making inroads among traditionally Democratic voters.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) also boosted El-Sayed, telling attendees that they count on him to be a key partner in busting up Trump’s MAGA agenda in Congress.
