Exclusive—Sen. Bernie Moreno: Just on ‘Sheer Jihadist Credentials’ El-Sayed Is Most Extreme Socialist in Midterms

Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is the most extreme candidate in the midterms based on “sheer jihadist credentials,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) told Breitbart News on Thursday. Moreno was asked about the most radical candidates running in the 2026 elections during a Breitbart News Fight Club Roundtable hosted by Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow and Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle. “Who do you think is the most extreme socialist candidate running in these 2026 midterms?” a participant named Barry M. asked. “Well, that’s like who’s the tallest midget? Because man, oh, man. That’s a tough one. I’d have to say just on sheer jihadist credentials, it would have to be Abdul El-Sayed,” Moreno replied. “This guy’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He goes on Fox News, and he deflects every question: ‘Did I want America to suffer during 9/11? Well, people can’t afford groceries.’ That isn’t the question that you were just asked. This guy is the most dangerous one,” the senator continued. Moreno went on to say El-Sayed is like “a Mamdani situation,” referring to Muslim socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, because “these guys are good communicators — they’re slick.” “You know, I came for the car business. I grew up in the car business. I remember the car business in the 80s and 90s, and the guys you gotta watch out for are the slick ones,” he added. El-Sayed, who is running against Republican Mike Rogers, has claimed he is “not a socialist,” although he is running on a platform backed by socialist lawmakers Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). He has also campaigned with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who claimed America “deserved 9/11.” A Senate counterterrorism expert warned in August at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Muslim Brotherhood threats in the U.S. that El-Sayed’s candidacy “raises homeland security concerns because of family ties to Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups and connections to a Midwest voter-engagement organization the expert said is tied to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),” Fox News reported. Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton. To attend the next Breitbart Fight Club roundtable event—where you can interact LIVE with the nation’s top leaders and ask them YOUR questions—join the Breitbart Fight Club at the “Middleweight” membership level, billed annually.