Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has faced a fierce backlash after a social media post appearing to reference Vice President JD Vance's wife Usha's Indian heritage during a political spat. The row began after Vance criticised El-Sayed's past comments on Sharia law at an Ohio rally, invoking his late grandfather, prompting El-Sayed to suggest on X that Vance's grandfather might not have welcomed Usha. Critics accused El-Sayed of racism and sexism, arguing he had improperly dragged a politician's spouse into the dispute and implied that white Midwesterners are inherently racist.

El-Sayed, 41, is the Democratic nominee for Michigan's Senate seat, running against Republican Mike Rogers in a closely fought race. Figures including Texas Congressman Brandon Gill, commentator Ryan Girdusky and journalist Emily Schrader condemned the remark, with one calling him a "racist creep," while a pro-Rogers account cited it as evidence of past accusations that El-Sayed harbours "contempt for women." Usha Vance, a lawyer and daughter of Indian immigrants who met JD Vance at Yale Law School, has kept a relatively low political profile and recently gave birth to the couple's fourth child.