# NBA champ takes issue with Obama’s pitch to Michigan voters amid hotly contested Senate race

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/nba-champ-takes-issue-with-obamas-pitch-to-michigan-voters-amid-hotly-contested-senate-race/
- Published: 2026-10-25T16:42:59+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-25T17:15:37+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Far right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/nba-champ-takes-issue-obama-pitch-michigan-voters-hotly-contested-senate-race
- Topics: Basketball, Elections, Government, Politics, Sport, World

## Key points

- Kuzma says Michigan voters care more about living costs than candidates’ faiths.
- Obama praised El-Sayed and Slotkin as a potential Senate “power duo”.
- A September poll gave El-Sayed a one-point lead over Rogers.

## Summary

Kyle Kuzma criticised Barack Obama’s appeal to Michigan voters, which highlighted Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s Muslim faith and Senator Elissa Slotkin’s Jewish faith. The Milwaukee Bucks forward argued that voters are more concerned about economic hardship than their representatives’ religions, challenging the focus of Obama’s rally remarks.

Kuzma, who is from Flint, cited a figure that one in four Black residents in Michigan live below the poverty line, and said Muslims and Jews each make up about 1 per cent of the state’s population. El-Sayed is running against Republican Mike Rogers in the 3 November election; a Fox News poll published on 30 September showed El-Sayed leading by one point. The poll also found cost of living was a major concern, alongside Donald Trump, immigration and US policy towards Israel.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.