Why did a Detroit voter on This American Life refuse to vote for Abdul El-Sayed?

Rose, a retired Detroit police dispatcher and great-grandmother, has been canvassing Black voters for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's close Senate race. On a call recorded by producer Ike Sriskandarajah, one of her oldest friends said she would not vote for El-Sayed because he is Arab-American and she did not trust him. The friend declined an offer to meet the candidate. Rose said she would walk her to the polls anyway.

• Rose has worked on seven campaigns in about a year of volunteering.
• Sriskandarajah heard Black El-Sayed supporters describe decades of tension between Arab store owners and Black customers in Detroit.
• Rose once won her sister over to Detroit's current mayor by putting the two on the phone together.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on This American Life (2026-11-01). Read the whole episode summary →

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