Kamala Harris has returned to Michigan to campaign alongside Democratic US Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, using a Detroit discussion on Black maternal health to focus attention on healthcare and women’s access to care.
Harris appeared with El-Sayed at a Detroit birth centre on Tuesday, where she criticised the Trump administration’s approach to Medicaid and federal health research. She also argued that the US Senate should act as a check on the White House.
“Medicaid is the largest funder for maternity care in America,” Harris said, according to The Guardian.
Harris also criticised the administration for halting federal research funding it had classified as diversity-related, citing research into conditions including fibroids.
El-Sayed, a physician and Democratic Senate nominee, thanked Harris for highlighting the issues discussed at the roundtable. He is running against Republican Mike Rogers for the Michigan Senate seat being vacated by Democratic senator Gary Peters.
The Senate contest follows a closely fought Democratic primary in August, when El-Sayed defeated congresswoman Haley Stevens. The campaign has since focused on efforts to bring together different parts of the Democratic coalition in Michigan.
El-Sayed supports universal healthcare and has taken positions to the left of much of the party’s leadership. His criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has also marked a significant difference from the Biden-Harris administration’s previous approach to the conflict.
Michigan has a large Arab American community, and the issue of US policy towards Israel and Gaza has been an important part of Democratic politics in the state. El-Sayed supported the “uncommitted” movement during the 2024 Democratic primary before later endorsing Harris when she became the party’s presidential nominee.
Harris’s Michigan appearance also comes as she considers whether to seek the Democratic presidential nomination again in 2028. Michigan is scheduled to be the fifth contest on the party’s revised 2028 primary calendar, while Harris has further campaign stops planned in Nevada and Georgia.
At the end of the Detroit event, Harris urged voters to recognise their role in the election outcome and the effect she said the result could have on their lives.
Source: The Guardian — exact source article URL could not be independently verified.
