Politics
Abdul El-Sayed shares multiple donors with former GOP candidate Dan Bilzerian
Campaign finance filings show nearly two dozen donors contributed to both the Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful and the former Republican congressional candidate.
The short version
- FEC filings reveal that nearly two dozen donors have contributed to both Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and former Republican congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian.
- The shared donors have contributed more than $61,000 combined to the two campaigns, despite the candidates being on opposite ends of the political spectrum on most domestic issues.
- While holding contrasting positions on taxes and immigration, both candidates have strongly criticized U.S. support for Israel and called for ending aid to the country.
Key facts
- A review of FEC filings shows that nearly two dozen donors contributed to both Abdul El-Sayed and Dan Bilzerian.[Fox News]
- The shared donors contributed a combined total of more than $61,000, with approximately $38,626.20 going to El-Sayed and $23,144.12 going to Bilzerian.[Fox News]
- Bilzerian lost his Republican primary race against Florida Representative Randy Fine, during which Bilzerian's campaign used antisemitic attacks, including an AI-generated ad directed at Fine.[Fox News]
- Both El-Sayed and Bilzerian have publicly criticized U.S. funding for Israel and advocated for ending aid to the country, though they differ widely on other issues like Medicare for All and immigration.[Fox News]
- Shared donors include Georgia attorney Ibrahim Awad, who donated $7,000 to El-Sayed and over $12,600 to a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian, and Texas business owner Hussein 'Sam' Mahrouq, who contributed to both.[Fox News]
- Mahrouq stated that his political contributions should not be interpreted as an endorsement of every position taken by a candidate.[Fox News]
What remains uncertain
- It is unclear exactly how much of Ibrahim Awad's $12,651.88 contribution to a joint fundraising committee was directly attributed to Bilzerian's campaign.[Fox News]