US Vice-President JD Vance branded Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed "very, very evil" during a campaign rally for Republican rival Mike Rogers, accusing him of being divisive and linking him to controversial figures. The exchange has escalated an already bitter contest in a key battleground state, with Vance also warning El-Sayed to stop referencing his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, after the candidate suggested Vance's late grandfather would not have accepted her because she is Hindu. El-Sayed responded in kind, accusing the Trump administration of pursuing "evil" policies, deepening the personal animosity in a race that has become one of the most closely watched of the midterms.

Vance told the Detroit-area rally that El-Sayed, who is Muslim, sought to "destroy" the country and accused him of associating with "terrorist sympathisers", repeatedly tying him to far-left streamer Hasan Piker despite El-Sayed having distanced himself from Piker's remarks about the 9/11 attacks. In a CNN interview, the 41-year-old El-Sayed hit back, describing "evil" as cutting healthcare for tax breaks, raising costs for ordinary people, and dividing communities for political gain. Michigan, won by Joe Biden in 2020 and Donald Trump in 2024, is a pivotal battleground, and a recent Epic-MRA poll put El-Sayed four points ahead of Rogers, a former law enforcement officer.