The ‘America First’ Left is here — and Republicans are missing the trap

Abdul el Sayed’s Senate campaign in Michigan, unlike his primary campaign, incorporates a little-noticed, but crucial, messaging shift. He presents as a mainstream Democrat, a capitalist, and an FDR-style economic populist with an “America First-style” framing. His “Medicare for All” does not seek to tax billionaires. Instead, he proposes cutting $3.8 billion in yearly foreign aid to “genocidal” Israel, even though “Medicare for All” is projected to cost $3 trillion or more annually.It does not seem to matter that the math does not add up. The politics does. El Sayed has turned boilerplate Democratic Socialists of America anti-Zionism and socialism into a much more attractive message. Don’t send money abroad. Spend it at home. Aid to Israel is now framed as a pocketbook issue.Polls indicate a close race: A recent Fox News poll shows it neck and neck, with Marist showing el Sayed in the lead: 51% to 44%. His message has a wide appeal. Actress Susan Sarandon is on board. Her T-shirt reads “Fund People Not Bombs.” Moreover, many mainstream Washington Democrats have embraced el Sayed, with Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) endorsing him, and former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning alongside him. In reality, his base aligns perfectly with the DSA and Hasan Piker audience. While Piker boosted him in the primary, el Sayed has disavowed him as a “Twitch streamer” but eagerly retains the young progressive voters acquired through that relationship. More notably, the DSA has not endorsed el Sayed, nor has he sought one. This is the new purple state playbook for the Left. Run on FDR, fund it by cutting foreign aid, and let the Left do the organizing without a formal campaign role.Why is this important for the Mike Rogers campaign? PACs such as MAGA Inc. have focused on el Sayed as a left-wing “socialist,” whereas he presents himself as a health professional who wants to make government work better by keeping money in Michigan.WITH ABDUL EL SAYED WIN, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS FALL TO THE MAMDANI LEFTTo win, Rogers must focus on three points. First, explain to voters that the $3.8 billion in foreign aid to Israel is spent here at home because U.S. military assistance requires Israel to procure American-made equipment, which sustains thousands of defense industry jobs, including many in Michigan. Second, explain to voters that the geopolitical consequences would be catastrophic. Israel remains America’s most dependable, ideologically connected ally within a highly volatile region. While neighboring vulnerable oil sheikhdoms provide 20% of global oil supplies, their diplomatic alliances frequently shift under pressure, an instability driven by constant threats from a disruptive Iran and its network of terrorist proxies. The viability of any post-American Middle East requires Israel as an anchor. Third, Rogers must reiterate President Donald Trump’s own slogan that America First does not mean America Alone. It requires allies who fight, so America does not have to.This race — Rogers v. el Sayed on Nov. 3 — is not just about a Senate seat. It is actually a test of a new playbook. If Michigan buys it, every purple-state Democrat will run on it in 2028. A core DSA position, defund an old ally, is camouflaged in a new suit and priced at $3.8 billion. Rogers cannot let that playbook go unchallenged.Kim Ezra Shienbaum, Ph.D., is an emerita professor of political science at Rutgers-Camden, author of five books, multiple journal articles, and political commentary recently published by the Spectator World and American Thinker.