A Fox News opinion column by contributor Liz Peek is urging voters to reject Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Democrats generally in the upcoming midterm elections, arguing that anger over the economy and President Trump’s strikes on Iran should not translate into support for candidates she describes as anti-U.S. and anti-Israel.
El-Sayed is running for a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Michigan. According to the column, he has declined to explicitly condemn Iran’s Revolutionary Guard when pressed, has shifted his position on Medicare-for-All after facing pressure over his call to eliminate private insurance, and has described commentator Hasan Piker, who once said “Americans deserved 9/11,” as a friend.
The column frames the race, headlined in a related piece as “Rogers versus El-Sayed,” as a broader referendum on the direction of the country following Trump’s military action against Iran, described in the piece as “Operation Epic Fury,” which the author says was aimed at denying Iran a nuclear weapon.
Economic Arguments
Peek’s column makes several economic claims to argue against Democratic candidates nationally. She writes that of the ten most expensive U.S. states, all but Alaska are run by Democrats, and that of the ten most expensive cities, all but Miami are Democrat-led. The column also cites California’s 74-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax, described as the nation’s highest, and New York’s building regulations, which the piece says make construction slower there than anywhere else in the world. It also references a recurring $22 congestion pricing fee on trucks in New York City imposed under Governor Kathy Hochul.
The column states that every Democrat in Congress voted against what it calls the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which cut taxes on tips and overtime pay. It also claims that Kamala Harris, during her 2024 presidential campaign, sought to roll back the 2017 Trump tax cuts that added $2,000 to the average family’s income.
On federal employment, the column states that the federal workforce grew to roughly 3 million under President Biden, excluding Census years, and has since shrunk to about 2.67 million under Trump.
The piece also cites economic growth data, stating the economy is expanding at more than 5% according to the Atlanta Fed, that child poverty fell to an all-time low last year, that real median household income reached a record high, and that household net worth has risen 17% since Trump took office in January 2025. It notes that 62% of Americans own stock directly or indirectly.
Predictions for Democratic Control
The column predicts that if Democrats regain power, they would reopen the border, citing House candidate Darialisa Avila Chevalier as someone who wants to eliminate it entirely. It also predicts Democrats, led by Senator Bernie Sanders, would move to restrict the growth of artificial intelligence; loosen recent changes to Medicaid eligibility; slow oil and gas production by limiting Alaskan drilling, LNG exports, and lease sales; and oppose extending Trump’s tax cuts.
The column acknowledges criticism of Trump, saying he has made missteps such as pushing to put his name on the Kennedy Center and engaging in disputes with Canada and members of the media, but argues that on substantive policy he is “righter than he is wrong.”
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