Obama to rally with El-Sayed at Detroit campaign event

Barack Obama will join Abdul El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson at a Detroit rally on Oct. 24, as Michigan in-person early voting begins. El-Sayed's campaign teased "big … news …coming," then said it was his honor and privilege to announce Obama on the trail that Saturday. Rogers's war room replied they already knew about a New York trip to raise more money from billionaires. El-Sayed defeated Haley Stevens by less than a percentage point in August. Stevens won about 51% of the Wayne County primary vote to El-Sayed's 45%. Obama spoke with him by phone after the primary. Kamala Harris joined him on Black maternal health, and he appeared with Elissa Slotkin over the weekend. He and Rogers debate Oct. 8. Benson and John James debate Tuesday for the first time. Obama has endorsed only three 2026 statewide candidates—Turek, Talarico, and Hinojosa—and taped two dozen ads last week. He last campaigned in Detroit in October 2024 and 2022. Democrats need four net seats to flip the Senate; DDHQ puts their odds at 56% for the Senate and 76% for the House.