Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed shares nearly two dozen donors with former Republican congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian, according to a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission filings for both campaigns.
Bilzerian, who lost to Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., in the Florida primary, faced widespread criticism from Republican leaders over his campaign tactics and advertisements. His campaign included an AI-generated advertisement calling Fine a '.fat Jew' along with other antisemitic remarks.
Despite being on opposite sides of most political issues, both El-Sayed and Bilzerian have criticized U.S. support for Israel and called on the United States to cease all aid to the Jewish state.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican critics point to Bilzerian's antisemitic attacks against Fine as disqualifying and argue that El-Sayed's shared donor base reveals problematic associations.
"Jewish supremacy is the greatest threat to the world today," Bilzerian told Fox News Digital in response to a request for comment.
Republican strategists say the connection between El-Sayed and donors supporting someone who made antisemitic remarks raises concerns about his judgment. They note that both candidates share criticism of Israel as a common thread among their shared donor base.
"This isn't just about policy differences," said one Republican campaign consultant. "When you have Democratic and Republican candidates sharing major donors, and those donors are tied to antisemitism controversies, voters deserve to know."
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive supporters of El-Sayed emphasize his policy positions on domestic issues that distinguish him sharply from Bilzerian. While Bilzerian has supported President Trump's mass deportation efforts, El-Sayed has called for abolishing ICE. While Bilzerian advocates for lower taxes and less regulation, El-Sayed has championed higher taxes on the wealthy and Medicare for All.
El-Sayed's campaign has not directly addressed questions about shared donor lists but has pointed to his policy contrasts with Bilzerian as evidence of their political differences.
Critics from the left who support El-Sayed note that the focus on donor overlap obscures fundamental policy disagreements. They argue that donors giving across ideological lines is common in American politics and does not indicate alignment on substantive issues.
"These are two candidates with completely different visions for America," said one progressive activist familiar with the Michigan race, speaking on background. "The fact that some individual donors support both doesn't change that."
What the Numbers Show
According to FEC filings reviewed by Fox News Digital, shared donors contributed more than $61,000 total to both campaigns.
$23,144.12 went to Bilzerian's campaign while approximately $38,626.20 went to El-Sayed's campaign.
Prominent shared donors include Ibrahim Awad, a Georgia attorney who contributed $12,651.88 through a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian on April 25, 2026, and $7,000 to El-Sayed's campaign approximately one month earlier.
Hussein 'Sam' Mahrouq, owner of Enterprises International (parent company of AutoMax and Dollar Rent-A-Car), donated $3,500 to El-Sayed from May 2025 to April 2026. He also contributed more than $1,000 through a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian.
Mahrouq has also donated to other candidates critical of Israel, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., as well as $400,000 to American Priorities PAC, created this year to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The Bottom Line
The shared donor list highlights an unusual intersection between a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan and a Republican congressional candidate from Florida who lost his primary amid controversy. Both candidates share critics of U.S. aid to Israel among their financial supporters despite vast policy differences on domestic issues.
El-Sayed faces questions about whether his association with donors also supporting someone accused of antisemitic remarks reflects broader patterns. His campaign has previously distanced itself from social media influencer Hasan Piker after controversial remarks about Jewish Americans.
For El-Sayed, the question is whether these donor connections will affect his standing with Michigan voters as he seeks the Democratic Senate nomination. Republican opponents are likely to highlight the shared donors in future campaign materials.