{
  "id": 15194974,
  "title": "El-Sayed Scores Boost With Conservative Pollster As Trump Escalates Attacks",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/el-sayed-scores-boost-with-conservative-pollster-as-trump-escalates",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-17T12:11:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/el-sayed-boost-conservative-pollster-trump-attacks-12583367"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, currently leads Republican Mike Rogers by a narrow margin of 46 percent to 44 percent in Michigan's Senate race, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll. This comes as President Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on El-Sayed during the final stretch of the election, calling him \"Muhammad\" and making other personal remarks. El-Sayed has framed the campaign around issues such as affordability, economic power, and Medicare for All, while Rogers has focused on an \"America and Michigan first\" message centered on manufacturing, lower costs, and protecting Social Security and Medicare. With less than three weeks remaining before the November 3 midterm election, the result of the poll is politically useful as Rasmussen is commonly included among Republican-aligned pollsters. However, the margin of sampling error means the Democrat's advantage cannot establish who is leading across the broader electorate. Trump's recent comments, including allegations that El-Sayed is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, have drawn criticism from rights and Muslim advocacy organizations and have the potential to impact the outcome of the election.",
  "summary": "“I can call you whatever the hell I want,” the president said at a campaign rally as polls point to a close Michigan Senate race.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}