'A little bit of a psychopath': JD Vance tears into Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed a week before US midterms

With exactly one week until the Michigan Senate vote, Vice President JD Vance travelled to Howell to brand Democrat Abdul El-Sayed "a little bit of a psychopath" and accuse him of peddling "explicitly anti-white racial hatred." Vance also attacked El-Sayed for claiming to be an Egyptian immigrant despite being born in Michigan, calling him "a man who would lie, who is so ashamed of this state." Polls show El-Sayed virtually tied with or leading Republican Mike Rogers in a race that could decide Senate control.

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the bitter primary to El-Sayed, pointedly refused to say she was "fully behind" him, saying only 'I'm on the team.'

A pro-El-Sayed ad linking rising grocery prices to US aid to Israel has sparked an antisemitism row; his campaign disavowed it but stopped short of calling it antisemitic.

Actor Mandy Patinkin has urged Jewish voters to back El-Sayed, warning that attacks on his Muslim identity echo historic persecution of Jewish communities.