Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee who has made getting money out of politics a central campaign promise, stands to benefit from more than $30 million in spending pledged by a Soros-funded super PAC, a contradiction his Republican opponent calls an outright lie to voters.
Campaign finance records reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II, a pair of political committees created and funded by the Soros network, have disbursed more than $40 million in donations to Democratic allies as of the end of June. A significant share of that money has landed at the Senate Majority PAC, the Chuck Schumer-aligned super PAC that received $9 million from Democracy PAC this cycle alone.
Senate Majority PAC has pledged $30 million in spending to help elect El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race against Republican nominee Mike Rogers. That $30 million commitment makes Michigan one of the most heavily funded battlegrounds in the country, and puts the Soros family's financial fingerprints squarely on a contest that El-Sayed says should be free of billionaire influence.
El-Sayed has built his campaign around a populist pitch aimed at corporate and billionaire power. In a 2025 interview with a local news outlet, he framed the issue in stark terms:
"The fundamental corruption of our politics has been the system that allows corporations and would-be oligarchs and billionaires to buy politicians."
In a separate interview, he distilled the message further: "I want to get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, pass Medicare for all."
Yet the candidate who rails against oligarchs buying politicians is scheduled to attend a September 28 fundraiser in California hosted by Jeffrey Soros, nephew of billionaire George Soros. El-Sayed's campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Neither did a Soros family spokesperson.
The silence leaves a gap between El-Sayed's public rhetoric and his private fundraising calendar that his campaign has made no effort to explain.
El-Sayed narrowly defeated Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary, claiming the nomination over the candidate favored by party leadership. That win gave progressives a foothold in one of the most competitive swing states in the country, and immediately attracted national money.
Alyssa Brouillet, spokeswoman for Republican nominee Mike Rogers, did not mince words in a statement to Fox News Digital:
"Abdul El-Sayed is only for 'money out of politics' when it isn't being spent on him. He's wining and dining Soros billionaires and begging Chuck Schumer for money while Mike Rogers is taking on Big Pharma and calling for a suspension of the gas tax to lower costs for working families. Mike Rogers is fighting for Michigan. Abdul El-Sayed is cozying up to billionaires and lying to Michiganders."
Rogers has pursued a different strategy in the race, working to build a coalition that includes Democratic defectors dissatisfied with their party's leftward drift. That cross-party appeal has drawn some unusual endorsements.
More than 400 Jewish Democrats in the state have publicly backed Rogers over El-Sayed, a sign that the Democratic nominee faces skepticism from within his own party's traditional base.
The $40 million-plus disbursed by Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II represents only the disclosed portion of the Soros family's political spending. Fox News Digital reported that much of the family's money flows through 501(c)(4) nonprofits, tax-exempt organizations that are only required to release financial disclosures annually, often a year or more after the spending occurs. That delay means voters may not learn the full scope of Soros-linked spending in the Michigan race until well after Election Day.
George Soros gradually transferred control of his political and philanthropic empire to his son, Alex Soros, between 2022 and 2023. The network's reach extends well beyond Michigan. During the 2025 cycle, Soros family political committees provided financial support to the campaigns of Democratic Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
El-Sayed is not the only beneficiary this cycle. The Soros network has also directed money to the House Majority PAC, the J Street Action Fund, described as a vocal critic of Israeli government policies, the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, Stacey Abrams' Fair Fight voter mobilization group in Georgia, and the Working Families Party PAC, which works to elect progressives primarily in New York.
The Justice and Public Safety PAC, described as the primary vehicle behind the Soros family's efforts to elect progressive prosecutors across the country, has pulled in close to $2 million through its federal and non-federal arms during the current cycle. The Soros family's stated causes include reducing the prison population, ending cash bail, electing progressive prosecutors, expanding rights for illegal immigrants, and addressing what they describe as racism in law enforcement.
The Soros money question adds another layer of scrutiny to a candidacy already marked by turbulence. El-Sayed faced pressure from party leaders after he deleted a social media post about the September 11 attacks, an episode that raised questions about his judgment and his willingness to align with controversial online figures.
His record before entering electoral politics has also drawn fresh attention. His time overseeing Detroit's animal control operations became a point of renewed scrutiny after his razor-thin primary victory, giving opponents additional material heading into the general election.
None of these issues exist in isolation. Together, they form a pattern that Michigan voters will have to weigh: a candidate who promises to clean up politics while benefiting from exactly the kind of billionaire spending he says corrupts it, who courts progressive donors in California while asking working families in Michigan to trust his populist credentials.
El-Sayed says he wants to get money out of politics. Forty million dollars from the Soros network says the money got to him first.
