Republicans are increasingly concerned that Fox News is giving Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed valuable exposure in Michigan’s closely contested Senate race, potentially undermining the GOP’s efforts to portray him as too far to the left for the state’s voters.
The frustration has intensified as El-Sayed, who is challenging Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers, continues to appear on the conservative-leaning network while using favorable remarks from its personalities to bolster his campaign. His campaign has also invested heavily in television advertising on Fox News, giving him repeated opportunities to reach viewers Republicans hope to win over in November.
According to advertising-tracking data cited by Axios, El-Sayed’s campaign aired 129 advertisements on Fox News between October 1 and October 6. That figure was roughly twice the number of spots that ran on ESPN during the same period.
For Michigan Republicans, the frequency of those advertisements is becoming a growing source of irritation.
