Here’s what happened.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing growing criticism after a resurfaced video and new allegations from a former member of his own campaign raised fresh questions about his views on policing.
El-Sayed, who has been endorsed by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, is once again under the spotlight after a 2020 University of Michigan video circulated online showing him questioning whether police departments should be as large as they are today and whether officers need to carry firearms.
In the video, El-Sayed asks, “Do people really need to use guns? Do we need as much of a police force?”
While those comments have drawn renewed attention, El-Sayed has since said during his Senate campaign that he does not support defunding the police.
The controversy intensified after Jordan Domingue, a former Marine combat veteran and El-Sayed’s one-time security director, accused the Senate candidate of practicing a double standard.
Domingue revealed that he spent years providing armed protection for El-Sayed, carrying a firearm while safeguarding the candidate during campaign events and public appearances.
“I protected this man with a gun for two years, some average of 6-7 days a week, typically 12-16 hour days,” Domingue wrote on X. “Like so many things with Abdul, it’s pure hypocrisy.”
According to Domingue, he served as security director for El-Sayed’s U.S. Senate campaign from April 2025 until January 2026 before resigning. He later said in an interview with Michigan Enjoyer that he left because he no longer believed El-Sayed was fit to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Domingue did not respond to requests for additional comment.
His LinkedIn profile also indicates he provided armed security during El-Sayed’s 2017-2018 campaign for Michigan governor, when the Democrat finished second to Gretchen Whitmer in the party’s gubernatorial primary.
The contrast between El-Sayed’s past comments about policing and his reliance on armed personal security has become a talking point for critics, who argue that political leaders should be held to the same standards they advocate for the public.
Supporters, meanwhile, point to El-Sayed’s more recent statements that he does not support defunding police and say his current campaign positions should be judged on their own merits.
The controversy comes just weeks before Michigan Democrats head to the polls for the state’s closely watched three-way U.S. Senate primary on Aug. 4. With early voting underway and national attention focused on the race, questions surrounding El-Sayed’s past remarks and campaign security are likely to remain part of the conversation through Election Day.