Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, a leader in the progressive movement nationally and a potential 2028 presidential candidate, is campaigning in Michigan Oct. 15-16 for the Democratic nominee for the state's open U.S. Senate seat,former Wayne County and Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed.
And they're not confining their efforts to metro Detroit.
Instead, the congresswoman known as AOC is initially joining El-Sayed on a bus tour of the Upper Peninsula Oct. 15, beginning with a noon event in Escanaba, to be followed with those in Iron Mountain at 3 p.m. and another at 6:30 p.m. in Marquette.
Then, as El-Sayed continues his bus tour up north, on Friday, Oct. 16, Ocasio-Cortez is headed, along with U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts,
to events in southeastern Michigan, with rallies for El-Sayed at the Crofoot in Pontiac at noon, Henry Ford College in Dearborn at 3 p.m. and a Latinos for Abdul event in Detroit set for 6:30 p.m., with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor joining them at that last one.
Locations were not provided for some events, pending RSVPs. Information for members of the public interested in attending the Pontiac event can be found at https://www.mobilize.us/abdulforsenate/event/1061001/, the Dearborn event at https://www.mobilize.us/abdulforsenate/event/1062481/ and the Detroit event at https://www.mobilize.us/abdulforsenate/event/1060988/.
El-Sayed, a progressive firebrand, is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, facing Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in what is considered a tossup race. El-Sayed has in recent pollingstaked out a clear but narrow lead. But a decision by him to campaign in the Upper Peninsula − a staunchly Republican-leaning area for more than a decade now − may suggest he is trying to widen his base of potential support.
“Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has been a beacon in Congress for taking on the powerful on behalf of everyday people. She’s shown all of us what courageous, sharp, values-driven leadership looks like,” said El-Sayed. “She was a critical partner in the (Democratic) primary, and I look forward to campaigning with her."
Ocasio-Cortez said El-Sayed "has built a winning coalition with an agenda to bring down costs for Michigan families and I could not be more excited to join him for the final stretch of this race. Once he’s in Washington, I look forward to working with Abdul to guarantee healthcare as a human right for all Americans and to build a politics that is free from the corrupting influence of corporate money.”
Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont campaigned previously for El-Sayed in Michigan ahead of the August Democratic primary.
This story has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ocasio-Cortez campaigns with El-Sayed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
