Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has built much of his campaign around a pledge to get money out of politics, is scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the West Hollywood, California, home of Jeffrey Soros, a film producer and nephew of billionaire George Soros.
According to a flyer obtained by Punchbowl News, Jeffrey Soros and his wife, Catharine Soros, will host a meet-and-greet for El-Sayed on Sept. 28, 2026. Also listed as participants are former Obama advisors and “Pod Save America” hosts Jon Favreau, Tom Vietor and Ben Rhodes, along with other figures from the entertainment industry. The flyer states that each guest can donate up to $57,800 to the Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund.
The event will draw scrutiny given El-Sayed’s repeated criticism of corporate and billionaire influence in politics. At a prior campaign stop, he said billionaires couldn’t explain what else $100 million could buy them besides political power.
Jeffrey Soros is the son of the late philanthropists Paul and Daisy Soros; Paul Soros was George Soros’ older brother. He is CEO of Los Angeles Media Fund and an executive producer of “The Space Between Us.” It is not known whether George Soros himself plans to attend the fundraiser. Fox News Digital, which first reported the flyer, said it had reached out to Open Society Foundations and to Los Angeles Media Fund for comment.
George Soros has for decades funded political causes through his philanthropy, Open Society Foundations, including a $50 million grant to the American Civil Liberties Union for criminal justice reform efforts and a $3 million grant to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law supporting anti-gerrymandering litigation and challenges to restrictive voting laws.
The flyer also lists television showrunners Ed Redlich and Sarah Timberman, venture capitalist Tom Unterman and Ahmos Hassan, founder and CEO of Chariot Entertainment, as participants.
Campaign Trail Tensions
The fundraiser comes as El-Sayed has criticized his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, for attending the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas last week instead of a scheduled televised debate. At a rally titled “Students v. Billionaires” at Michigan State University, El-Sayed told students: “Now, in case you’re wondering, there is no Dallas, Michigan. He was in Dallas, Texas. Why was he in Dallas, Texas? Given that he’s running for Senate in Michigan.”
El-Sayed has also faced questions over his past association with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who joined him for a poolside campaign event last month. Piker has previously made disparaging comments about Jewish people and America, calling Orthodox Jewish people “inbreds,” saying America deserved the 9/11 attacks, and describing Hamas as “1,000 times better” than the Israeli government. El-Sayed distanced himself from Piker weeks ago after facing criticism, and has since described him simply as “a streamer in California” unconnected to Michigan politics.
Rogers’ campaign communications director, Alyssa Brouillet, responded to news of the fundraiser in a statement: “Abdul El-Sayed raising dark Soros money in California after begging Chuck Schumer for money in DC is the least surprising thing he’s done all cycle. That’s what a conman does — says one thing and does another. Michiganders can’t trust this guy.”
The statement referenced El-Sayed’s meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
A spokesperson for El-Sayed’s campaign responded by pointing to Rogers’ own donor base: “Mike Rogers has taken over a million dollars from Big Pharma and spent years in Congress as a self-proclaimed ‘champion’ of drug companies, voting to keep prescription drug costs high. Corporate special interests are spending millions of dollars in dark money to try to buy Rogers a Senate seat because he’s spent his entire career making himself and his billionaire donors richer while Michiganders pay the price.”
The spokesperson added: “Abdul is the only candidate in this race running to get money out of politics and will fight to end Citizens United to ensure that our democracy is working for people, not billionaires.”
El-Sayed is not alone among Democrats seeking support from wealthy figures in the entertainment industry. “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof and his wife, Heidi, hosted a fundraiser for Democratic Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico on Sept. 10, 2025, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
