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2026 candidate · follow the money

Who funds Abdul El-Sayed?

Michigan U.S. SenateDemocratFiled for an open seatFEC S6MI00418
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The money.

Abdul El-SayedFEC filing: Abdul El-Sayed · S6MI00418 ↗
Raised
$48M
Spent
$51M
Cash on hand
$2.7M
  • Individuals 99% $47M
  • PACs & other committees 0.8% $405K
  • Party committees 0.1% $66K
  • Other receipts 0.3% $130K

Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $6.0M moved between the candidate's own committees.

Outside groups: $2.9M supporting · $21M opposing ($1.1M of it designated for the general election)

Biggest spenders supporting

  1. FIGHTING FOR MICHIGAN PACSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $1.1M
  2. NATIONAL NURSES UNITED FOR PATIENT PROTECTIONSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $490K
  3. AMERICAN PRIORITIES (AP)Super PACSpent mainly in primaries $372K
  4. COMMON DEFENSE ACTION FUNDHybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $290K
  5. WORKING FAMILIES PARTY PACHybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $159K

Biggest spenders opposing

  1. UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP')Super PACSpent mainly in primaries $20M
  2. AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTIONHybrid PAC (super PAC account)All of its general-election spending helped Republicans or opposed Democrats $300K
  3. HIGH PLAINS PACSuper PACAll of its general-election spending helped Republicans or opposed Democrats $258K
  4. AMERICAN POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEEHybrid PAC (super PAC account)All of its general-election spending helped Republicans or opposed Democrats $239K
  5. A STRONGER MICHIGANSuper PACSpent mainly in primaries $150K

Largest direct PAC contributions

  1. DSCCDemocratic party committee $62K
  2. A NEW POLICY PACHybrid PAC (super PAC account) $26K
  3. MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTIONHybrid PAC (super PAC account) $10K
  4. PROGRESSIVE VOTERS OF AMERICALeadership PAC of Bernard Sanders $10K
  5. 314 ACTION FUNDHybrid PAC (super PAC account) $10K

Who gave.

Who gives $47M from individuals

41% in small-dollar gifts

$19M of $47M came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.

The itemized gifts below add up to $10M of the $28M the campaign reported itemizing through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet processed the rest into its bulk file, which runs to Jul 15, 2026 for this campaign.

32% from Michigan · 68% from elsewhere

Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address; $5,500 had no usable state. Giving from other states is lawful and common.

86% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.

Top states

  1. Michigan $3.3M
  2. California $1.7M
  3. New York $718K
  4. Texas $699K
  5. Illinois $632K
  6. New Jersey $375K
  7. Virginia $319K
  8. Massachusetts $301K

Top employers named by donors

  1. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN $64K
  2. HENRY FORD HEALTH $57K
  3. APPLE $51K
  4. GOOGLE $48K
  5. MICROSOFT $42K
  6. COREWELL HEALTH $41K
  7. NVIDIA $33K
  8. WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY $33K
  9. ACCESS $25K
  10. PROMEDICA $23K

Employers as donors wrote them on the form. A company listed here did not give this money; people who work there did.

Retired, self-employed, not employed or not given: $4.2M. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $4.9M, not listed so no one donor is singled out.

Summary through Oct 14, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Mar 10, 2025 to Jul 15, 2026, net of refunds (31,280 entries). Every itemized contribution on FEC.gov ↗

From the principal campaign committee's FEC reports; joint-fundraising transfers and later reports are not included, and no donor is named here. A contribution is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.

Outside money in the final weeks.

Outside spending including late reports: $41M for / $154M against · $49M in the final two weeks

That is $171M more than the $24M in regular reports alone. Source: FEC regular reports plus 24- and 48-hour reports they do not yet cover. The final two weeks run Oct 21, 2026 to Nov 3, 2026, by the date each ad or mailing went out.

$29M of the $195M on late reports was filed as an estimate. A 24- or 48-hour report is due within a day or two of the spending; the spender's later regular report carries the final cost.

What it bought, per the late reports

  • TV, radio & streaming TV 14% $27M
  • Digital ads 14% $28M
  • Ads, medium not stated 51% $99M
  • Mail, print & signs 11% $22M
  • Phones & texts 2% $4.8M
  • Canvassing & field 5% $10M
  • Ad production 2% $3.4M
  • Other or unclassified <0.1% $59K

Largest late spenders for

  1. WINSENATE $13M
  2. LCV VICTORY FUND $5.4M
  3. CFFE PAC $3.6M
  4. AB PAC $3.4M
  5. LOWER COSTS NOW $3.2M

Largest late spenders against

  1. SLF PAC $46M
  2. NO GOING BACK PAC INC. $27M
  3. UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT ('UDP') $21M
  4. GLCF, INC. $20M
  5. AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTION $12M

Latest dissemination on these reports: November 3, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (1,088 entries). These reports on FEC.gov ↗

Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate and is not the candidate's money. Purposes are grouped from each spender's own description, so the groups are approximate. A dollar figure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.

Where it went.

Where the money went $12M in itemized spending

These itemized payments cover $12M of the $51M the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jul 15, 2026.

  • Advertising & outreach 43% $5.1M
  • Consultants & strategy 15% $1.8M
  • Staff & payroll 21% $2.5M
  • Fundraising & processing fees 6% $696K
  • Polling, research & data 4% $422K
  • Travel, meals & events 3% $409K
  • Office, technology & overhead 6% $661K
  • Legal & compliance 2% $172K
  • Contributions, transfers & refunds 0.4% $53K
  • Other or unclassified 0.3% $41K

Largest payees

  1. MIDDLE SEAT $2.9M
  2. LC MEDIA $2.6M
  3. GUSTO $2.5M
  4. ACTBLUE TECHNICAL SERVICES $502K
  5. MRG STRATEGIES, LLC $294K

Paid to individuals: $305K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.

Payments dated Mar 11, 2025 to Jul 15, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (2,184 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗

Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.

Others who filed for this seat.

Questions worth asking.

Money shows who backed a campaign, not how a person will act. Compare it with what they did and said: their votes or official actions if they have held office, their own statements, and their answers to a finding. Use the same questions for every candidate.

FEC bulk data read November 4, 2026. Campaign totals come from each filing's own FEC summary through its latest processed report. Outside spending is independent expenditures itemized in committee reports in the FEC bulk files, primaries included; late 24- and 48-hour reports, party coordinated spending, communication costs and groups that do not report to the FEC are not included. Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate, and it is not the candidate's money. A contribution or expenditure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing. This page identifies the filing by its FEC candidate ID; a person can hold more than one filing.