During a recent interview with Fox News, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faced criticism over his financial ties to billionaire George Soros. El-Sayed defended accepting individual donations from wealthy donors like the Soros family while criticizing corporate funding of political campaigns. He argued that corporations, unlike individuals, use their contributions to influence politicians' votes and policy decisions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
During an interview on Fox News's "The Story," Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faced questions about his ties to the wealthy Soros family, particularly George Soros, while campaigning against accepting corporate money. When asked if these relationships contradicted his message of getting "money out of politics," El-Sayed defended receiving individual donations, emphasizing he does not engage with corporations or groups like AIPAC for financial support. He acknowledged that the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans partially funded his graduate education and noted a recent fundraiser hosted by Jeffrey Soros, George's nephew. Despite this, El-Sayed maintained his stance against corporate influence in politics.
Written for “Soros Ties Controversy” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but 2 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 1 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 58604: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-05
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed was challenged over his ties to billionaire Democratic mega-donor George Soros after criticizing his Republican opponent Mike Rogers for accepting money from corporations.
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Sayed → challenge → corporations
"There's a big difference there," El-Sayed said during an exclusive interview with "The Story" Monday.
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Sayed → be → Story
El-Sayed’s graduate education was partially funded by the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans and George Soros’ wealthy nephew, Jeffrey Soros, hosted El-Sayed at a Los Angeles fundraiser last month, according to footage reviewed by Fox News Digital.
uncertain
nephew → fund → Digital
As El-Sayed campaigns on a pledge to get "money out of politics," he was pressed by anchor Martha MacCallum on Monday about whether his relationships with wealthy donors undercut that message.
"When individuals want to give to my campaign, I welcome their support," he said, defending his relationship with the Soros family.
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he → campaign → family
"You know what I don't do?
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I → know → what
I don't call corporations.
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I → call → corporations
I don't call AIPAC…
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I → call → AIPAC
Individuals who want to support a campaign, that's different."
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that → want → campaign
The Soros family’s political machine has dumped millions into political committees that are supporting El-Sayed’s run for Senate.
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that → dump → Senate
El-Sayed maintained that "corporations shouldn’t buy politicians," arguing that accepting support from wealthy individual donors is different from soliciting corporate money.
"Here's the difference.
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difference → maintain → money
When you take their money and then you're ... in a position to govern on their issues, [and] guess what happens?
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what → take → issues
You turn a blind eye.
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You → turn → eye
You vote 19 times to keep prescription drug prices high."
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You → vote → prices
El-Sayed was further challenged about the $30 million pledged by the Senate Majority PAC to help him get elected.
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him → challenge → PAC
"Do you know where that money comes from?" MacCallum asked.
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MacCallum → know → where
"It comes from corporations…
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It → come → corporations
you don't think that those interests, those people are going to circle back around to you in Washington and say, 'So, senator, we gave this much money…’"
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we → think → money
The Michigan Democrat insisted the groups supporting his candidacy "won’t" come back looking for votes in return.
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groups → insist → return
They won't, because I've been very, very clear that I am not interested in doing the bidding of corporations.
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I → do → corporations
I will not sit down with a corporate lobbyist," El-Sayed said.
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Sayed → sit → lobbyist
"We need to get the corporations out, and right now corporations are buying politicians at a record clip."
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corporations → need → clip
El-Sayed went on to detail his push to reduce corporate influence in politics, arguing that lobbyists shape lawmakers’ votes and divert attention from constituents.
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lobbyists → go → constituents
"In my primary and in the general election, the same corporations are funding politicians.
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corporations → fund → politicians
And this is the problem," he said.
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he → say → ?
"Both sides of the aisle funded by exactly the same corporation – that's what I wanna end."
"I don't think they should be able to buy any of us.
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they → fund → us
And that's exactly what I want to end.
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I → want → what
So, when I say money out of politics, I intend fully to get corporate money out politics."
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I → say → politics
El-Sayed's remarks come as former President Barack Obama is expected to join him on the campaign trail in Michigan later this month as Democrats make their final push ahead of the midterm elections.
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Democrats → come → elections
El-Sayed also argued in the Fox News interview that Iran’s nuclear threat had been contained before President Donald Trump launched war and insisted that he does not intend to "choke out" billionaires.
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he → argue → billionaires
The Aporia
