87% of Likely Black Voters Back El-Sayed, Despite New Signs

Yard signs reading "Blacks and Jews Standing Together" have appeared in Detroit, Flint, and Ypsilanti.

The Center for Urban Renewal and Education, a nonprofit based in Washington, DC, paid for these signs to target Black voters. Star Parker, the organization's director, explained the effort in an email to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. She stated the goal is to remind Black Christian voters of the unique and special reasons to stand with Israel. The signs are part of a broader push to influence the upcoming US Senate race.

CURE is also funding billboards in the same area with messages like "Self Defense is Not Genocide" and "Many Black Evangelicals Agree that Israel Has a Right to Exist." These materials do not name specific candidates. However, they arrive as Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed faces criticism from Jewish voters over his rhetoric on Israel and Jewish safety. El-Sayed has also struggled to maintain strong support among Black voters, a traditional Democratic base. Many Black Detroiters voted for his primary rival, US Rep. Haley Stevens, in the earlier primary. A recent poll commissioned by the Detroit News suggests this dynamic has shifted in the final days of the race. The data indicates that 87% of likely Black voters now support El-Sayed.

Tensions between Black and Arab communities complicate the local political environment. Sam Robinson, a Detroit-based reporter for a historic Black newspaper, noted a "scarcity mindset" among some voters. He told the Columbia Journalism Review that some Black people feel Arabs are taking their share of limited resources. Republican candidate Mike Rogers has targeted these tensions in his campaign. A new super PAC linked to Rogers has spent heavily on ads claiming El-Sayed has been disrespectful and dishonest with Black voters. Pro-Rogers ads have also highlighted the friction between local Black and Arab communities.

CURE's advertising campaign launched in the final week of the race. It followed an interfaith roundtable in Detroit on Oct. 22 hosted by the organization. A local rabbi and several Black pastors attended to discuss the history of Black-Jewish organizing. This alliance has been strained in recent years. Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat Shalom in Farmington Hills participated in the event. He told JTA via email that politics was not the primary focus. "It was mostly about teaching about antisemitism, which I guess at this point in history is political," Bergman wrote. El-Sayed has focused his campaign's final stretch on winning over the Black vote. He has visited Black churches and held events with former President Barack Obama and US Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. Driving up turnout in these communities is viewed as key to his chances of winning the seat.

US Rep. Haley Stevens made a last-minute decision to endorse Mike Rogers. Parker told JTA she believes many Black Christian voters will follow Stevens' lead. "Their support for Israel needed a boost," Parker said. "I believe this endorsement has taken Mike Rogers over the finish line with black voters." However, other factors are influencing Black voters in Michigan this year. Pro-Palestinian state Rep. Donavan McKinney won his primary challenge against a pro-Israel incumbent in a majority-Black congressional district in August. This result suggests Palestinian rights are a more animating issue for this demographic than in the past. During one of Stevens' primary campaign stops in Detroit, a Black community organizer confronted her directly about her support for Israel.