Obama's pitch for El-Sayed

The Barack Obama Michigan rally brought the former president to Cass Technical High School in Detroit on Saturday evening for a get-out-the-vote event held on the first day of early voting in the state, with thousands of onlookers in attendance. Obama told the crowd that El-Sayed was "fighting for change", and made the case that the candidate would complete the work of his signature healthcare law.

According to Obama, El-Sayed would "finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable healthcare to every single American".

Obama also addressed the fact that he and El-Sayed have not seen eye to eye on policy, telling the audience: "We are not going to agree on every detail of every issue". He lightened the moment with a joke about his own household: "You know who else doesn't agree with everything I do? Michelle Obama".

He said the two men share underlying values - making sure everybody gets a fair shot in this society and that the system is not run just for those at the top.

Attacks on Trump and Republicans

Obama used the Detroit stage to go after Donald Trump, accusing the president of enriching himself and his family and of setting a culture in which favors are taken at the top.

"Never seen a president so intent on selling favors like this," Obama said.

His criticism extended to Republicans further down the ticket:

• He mocked defense secretary Pete Hegseth as "laser-focused" on troops' jawlines and testosterone levels, asking: "How much time do you think this man spends in front of the mirror every day?"
• He ridiculed Trump's tariffs on Canada, pointing out that Canada sits just minutes from Detroit across the bridge and observing: "These are the people who gave us Martin Short and maple syrup"
• He joked that Trump's White House renovations belonged on HGTV, saying: "He's got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory"

A late endorsement after a contested primary

The Detroit stop was Obama's first public show of support for El-Sayed, whom he had declined to back during August's primary. In that contest, El-Sayed - a doctor and former Wayne county health official - defeated the moderate congresswoman Haley Stevens, who had the backing of Democratic establishment figures and pro-Israel groups.

It was not a cold start: the two spoke by phone after the primary, and El-Sayed has since called Obama a mentor figure. Obama himself began the day in Cleveland, Ohio, stumping for former Ohio senator Sherrod Brown in what was his first weekend of in-person campaigning in the midterms.

The wider Michigan race

The rally also threw its weight behind Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's secretary of state and the party's candidate for governor. Senator Elissa Slotkin, another speaker, told the crowd that Michigan believes in electing fighters, and said: "We're putting a check and balance on Donald Trump in the White House".

The race El-Sayed is running is one of the closest in the country. Key facts on the contest:

• Republicans have not held a Michigan Senate seat in 25 years, but the Cook Political Report rates this race a toss-up
• El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman endorsed by Trump who lost to Slotkin in 2024 by less than half a percentage point
• A mid-October Marist poll of likely voters showed the two men separated by two points, with El-Sayed at 50% and Rogers at 48% - a gap inside the survey's margin of error; RealClearPolitics's average had El-Sayed ahead by about 2.6 points
• If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim and first Egyptian American in the US Senate
• Benson faces Republican congressman John James; a James win would make him Michigan's first Black governor

The general election falls on 3 November, and Saturday's rally marked the opening of early voting in the state. Trump, who has attacked El-Sayed throughout the campaign - calling him a "jihadist" and alleging ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, claims El-Sayed strongly denies - has his own Michigan appearance ahead.

On Sunday, Trump is scheduled to campaign for the state's Republicans in Port Huron, which sits on the Canadian border. The city has said the event will be the first presidential visit to St Clair county.