(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Some scholarly articles written by Abdul El-Sayed, the embattled Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, left critics scratching their heads Friday over their unusual subject matter.
In one paper, El-Sayed analyzed reproduction in “inter-racial” relationships and the potential health risks Arab American mothers face during pregnancy if they conceived children with non-Arab men.
At the center of the controversy is a 2011 article El-Sayed co-authored for the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, titled “Interethnic mating and risk for preterm birth among Arab-American mothers: Evidence from the Arab-American Birth Outcomes Study.”
In the article, El-Sayed and his co-author, physician Sandro Galea, argued that Arab American mothers who had children with non-Arab men faced a higher risk of “pre-term birth” than those who had children with Arab men.
Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s scientific research is…odd.
Arab mothers who engage in “interethnic mating” have worse birth outcomes than those who mate with Arab men?
Also: Genetics, black race, and interracial mating?
Why research this? WTF? pic.twitter.com/9ZXCftqeuW
— J.D. Haltigan, PhD 🏒👨💻 (@JDHaltigan) October 15, 2026
But beyond the study’s claims, the terminology El-Sayed used in the piece drew attention, including the phrase “interracial mating.”
Dr. John D. Haltigan, a psychology researcher, brought the articles to light in an X thread that has garnered more than half a million views.
“Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s scientific research is…odd,” said Haltigan, later describing El-Sayed’s work as “standard woke science.”
Another ridiculous research topic by El-Sayed. pic.twitter.com/GCg6jZQiAT
— J.D. Haltigan, PhD 🏒👨💻 (@JDHaltigan) October 16, 2026
In a separate article titled “Ethnic Inequalities in Mortality: The Case of Arab-Americans,” El-Sayed proposed that discrimination against Arab Americans caused premature deaths.
Another subject of his research was “birth outcomes among Arab Americans in Michigan before and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.”
El-Sayed is set to face Republican nominee and former Rep. Mike Rogers in the November election. Both are seeking to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., in the next Congress.
Before running for elected office, El-Sayed led the Detroit Health Department and Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Michigan governor in 2018, losing to would-be Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to Headline USA’s request for comment before deadline.
