Cruz Tags Michigan Rival With 'Jihadist Leprechaun' Nickname

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz appeared in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, outside Detroit, on Oct. 28 to attack Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Cruz told the crowd he nicknames El-Sayed the "jihadist leprechaun." He argued that as a senator, El-Sayed would hold a security clearance and could sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying that if El-Sayed supports the Brotherhood, "there is a very real risk that Americans will die as a result." El-Sayed told Fox News he has never belonged to the group and never will. The Trump administration designated some Brotherhood branches as a terrorist organization in January 2026. El-Sayed's campaign calls the accusations an anti-Muslim smear designed to shift attention from gas and grocery prices, which spokesperson Cole Wozniak blames on Trump administration policy.

The lineage of the allegation reaches back to 2012 and 2013 posts by El-Sayed's half-sister, Fatten Elkomy, who wrote that their birthmother joined the Brotherhood in Egypt in the early 1970s as a college student. El-Sayed, born in the U.S., has said his parents divorced when he was 3, that a stepmother raised him, and that he has not spoken with his birthmother about that period. Her involvement predates the U.S. terror designation by decades. Cruz also pointed to El-Sayed's leadership of the University of Michigan Muslim Students' Association, a 2011 op-ed on protests against Hosni Mubarak, and a 2012 letter he signed supporting Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, who emerged from the Brotherhood's political wing.

El-Sayed has said Republicans are pushing a theory that he would carry "dual loyalties." He spoke at an Oct. 16 event in Marquette: "My mom and my sister are not running for office. I'm running for office. Judge me by my actions and my work." Cruz responded that he does not know about dual loyalties but maintained that El-Sayed's demonstrated loyalties belong to the Brotherhood, framing the matter as ideology rather than religion. El-Sayed's campaign declined to respond further.

Rogers, the Republican nominee, has his own record on the question. As a congressman in 2012 he said the U.S. would talk to moderate Brotherhood members while watching them closely, and he voted to keep Egypt funded under Morsi. He told NBC the goal was preserving ties with Egyptian intelligence services. Rogers called this contest the "most important race in the country" and said El-Sayed has lied about ties to the Brotherhood. Cruz said an El-Sayed victory would make Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee and warned she could win. Michigan backed Trump in 2016 and 2024 and elected Democrat Elissa Slotkin to the Senate in 2024. The CBS News Battleground Tracker rates the race a toss up.

Rogers has defended his own statements on the Brotherhood. Asked about Qatar's support for the group and a Qatari-gifted Air Force One, he raised concern about Qatari money at U.S. colleges instead. His campaign said the group's ideologies run counter to American ones. The Muslim Students' Association chapter presidency and the 2011 op-ed, both cited by Cruz, sit alongside the 2012 letter as the public record Republicans point to when pressed for evidence.

The Senate contest remains a toss up in the CBS News Battleground Tracker, with Michigan's recent split between Trump at the presidential level and Slotkin in 2024 shaping both parties' closing arguments.