Abdul El-Sayed's Father-in-Law Adds $100K to Super PAC Backing Michigan Senate Bid
Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Senate candidate, has seen his father-in-law contribute an additional $100,000 to the super PAC backing his campaign, according to federal campaign finance records. Tayeb Jukaku's June 22 donation to Fighting for Michigan PAC follows earlier contributions of $100,000 each on February 3 and March 31, bringing his total support to $300,000. This positions Jukaku as the group's largest individual donor, matching the $300,000 contribution from the Institute for Middle East Understanding, a George Soros-funded nonprofit linked to former Palestine Liberation Organization legal adviser Diana Buttu.
The influx of funds has enabled Fighting for Michigan PAC to launch a "multimillion-dollar independent expenditure campaign" supporting El-Sayed, who campaigns on removing "money out of politics." Critics highlight the tension between his rhetoric and the PAC's financial backing, particularly from Jukaku, who serves on the boards of organizations named as unindicted co-conspirators in the 2005 USA v. Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case.
El-Sayed's opponent, Haley Stevens, accused him during a primary debate of obscuring Jukaku's role: "Abdul, you talk about getting money out of politics and putting money in people's pockets. But who is putting money in yours? What are you hiding?" El-Sayed later released two pages of his 2025 tax return, showing $686,069 in total income, including $292,000 in "additional income" and $262,000 in capital gains. The partial disclosure omitted details about the income sources, despite El-Sayed's calls for "government transparency."
El-Sayed's 2025 income places him in the top 1% of Michigan earners, contrasting with his working-class campaign persona. Other notable donors to Fighting for Michigan PAC include fast-food magnate Zubair Kazi, who contributed $50,000 through an offshore company in the Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction criticized for corporate tax avoidance. This conflicts with El-Sayed's pledge to "stop big corporations from hiding their assets to evade taxes."
Pramila Jayapal's Medicare for All PAC also donated $250,000. El-Sayed supports a single-payer healthcare system, yet his wife, psychiatrist Sarah Jukaku, does not accept Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance in her private practice, a fact El-Sayed has previously criticized in others, calling it dismissive of low-income patients.