Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, has responded to criticism from Vice President JD Vance, who called El-Sayed "evil" in a recent speech. Vance, a Republican, criticized El-Sayed during a campaign stop in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where he accused him of favoring one group over others and of being associated with "terrible evil." El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, said Vance was using a "dog whistle" to refer to the Islamophobic attacks he has faced throughout his campaign. While Vance did not directly mention El-Sayed’s religion, he warned that El-Sayed represents a growing "evil" in the United States. In response, El-Sayed outlined what he views as the true forms of "evil" in politics: taking healthcare away from working people to give tax breaks to billionaires, raising the cost of groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars, and dividing people for personal gain. He also criticized Vance for suggesting that El-Sayed prioritizes his ethnic group over others, referencing a comment El-Sayed made after a deadly attack on a synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan. El-Sayed had noted that the attacker had lost family members in an airstrike in Lebanon and said, “Hurt people hurt people.” He later said he made a mistake and should have only condemned the attack. Vance also criticized El-Sayed for bringing up his wife, Usha Vance, in response to comments El-Sayed made about Vance’s late grandfather, "Papaw." El-Sayed had questioned whether Vance would take his wife with him back in time to meet his grandfather. Right-wing commentators called the post racist, and Usha Vance, who is Indian American, said she believed Vance’s family would have been welcoming to her. El-Sayed said he raised Usha Vance’s name because Vance’s political views suggest that some people are "more American" than others. The political tensions have intensified as Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers tries to attract moderate Democrats and Jewish voters, following a close primary in which El-Sayed narrowly defeated pro-Israel congresswoman Haley Stevens. In his speech, Vance urged Michigan voters to "reject" El-Sayed, calling him a defender of "literal terrorism" and urging support for Rogers. El-Sayed dismissed Vance and Rogers as "sock puppets from Ohio and Florida" and said that Michigan voters would decide the outcome in November.