MUSKEGON, Mich. – Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon is sounding the alarm on her belief that Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s opposition to Sharia law bans, association with far-left streamer Hasan Piker and progressive policies will “permanently” change America.
“This is not, if this person gets in, how much damage can they do in six years?” Dixon told Fox News Digital.
“This is someone who fundamentally disagrees with the Constitution and the founding of this country and has come out and said the founding of this was wrong and he disagrees with this. This is somebody who wants to go into government to permanently change America.”
Dixon highlighted El-Sayed’s past opposition to Sharia law bans, saying Americans need to know where he stands.
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“This is a guy who has gone out, and he’s done speeches on why it is a terrible thing to ban Sharia law. That, to me, the average American is terrified of the idea of groups coming in and taking over our culture and saying that they are going to change how we live and how women are treated,” she said.
During a 2022 speech to the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Oklahoma chapter, El-Sayed said efforts to ban Sharia law were rooted in white supremacy and driven by “the same exact forces” behind the forced removal of Native Americans and the destruction of Black Wall Street.
“That comparison, to me, is something that the American people, and certainly the people of Michigan, need to know that that’s how closely aligned he is with the Islamist values and the fact that he would bring Sharia law into our lives and defend it in that way,” Dixon said.
Sharia law is a body of Islamic religious principles governing personal, family and financial matters, with interpretations varying on issues including child marriage, women’s rights and criminal penalties.
Turning to El-Sayed’s recent campaign appearances with Piker, Dixon took aim at El-Sayed for refusing to distance himself from the popular streamer.
Piker, who has about 10 million social media followers, has faced backlash for saying that “America deserved 9/11,” as well as for controversial comments about Hamas and the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and for recently wearing an outfit resembling that of former communist dictator Mao Zedong.
“At the same time, [he is] campaigning with a man who says America deserved 9/11 and refusing to back down on that,” Dixon said.
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El-Sayed pushed back on criticism of his association with Piker during an April “Fox & Friends” appearance, saying, “[Just] because you appear with somebody, doesn’t mean you agree with them on everything.”
But Dixon said El-Sayed’s ties to Piker and stance on Sharia law remain issues that “you can’t ignore.”
“Everybody I’ve talked to, I’ve said, this is about whether or not we preserve America, or we have somebody who’s completely against everything that we are, and it goes well beyond what we’ve seen with Democrat and Republican,” she said.
Looking back at El-Sayed’s 2007 University of Michigan commencement speech, where he served as the student speaker alongside former President Bill Clinton and told the crowd they must have “the audacity to believe we can change the world,” Dixon said. “What he really meant was destroy America.”
The concerns over El-Sayed’s candidacy also extend to his policies, with Dixon arguing that his economic agenda goes “beyond socialism.” She said the Democratic Party has “openly embraced” socialism, adding that El-Sayed “wants government that will take over people.”
“You won’t thrive,” Dixon said. “Everybody will be equally suffering.”
Dixon said El-Sayed will struggle to unite a divided Democratic Party and appeal to working-class Michigan voters.
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“The working-class Democrats are not socialists,” Dixon said. El-Sayed has previously denied being a socialist, saying, “I believe in capitalism, I just believe that capitalism has to be regulated.”
Dixon cautioned that Democrats who opposed El-Sayed in the primary could back him through straight-ticket voting in November, which lets voters select one party’s candidates with a single choice.
“The question that you’re really asking is, will people hold their nose and straight-ticket vote?” Dixon said.
But Dixon said some voters could “cross over” to support Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers.
“It’s going to be an interesting dynamic. It means the Republicans have to work very hard,” she said.
El-Sayed is facing Rogers in November for the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.
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