Abdul El-Sayed disavows the Muslim Brotherhood and pushes back on a dual loyalty question at a Michigan town hall

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, had a tense moment with a voter Saturday at a town hall in Caro. A man shouted a question about the Muslim Brotherhood right after El-Sayed finished speaking. The candidate rejected the group and then pushed back on what the question implied.

The exchange in Caro

The man demanded to know whether El-Sayed would disavow the group. El-Sayed said he does. He then accused the man of assuming dual loyalty because of his faith and said his only allegiance is to the Constitution. "For me, that Constitution is the guiding light," he said. The man walked out as the crowd cheered.

El-Sayed could become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. He has suggested that questions about the group are rooted in bigotry. On a cable show last Sunday he said that insinuating his faith could make him anything but loyal to the Constitution should be called into question.

Where the questions came from

Republican challenger Mike Rogers and the president have raised the issue in recent days. The latest attacks followed the resurfacing of old social media posts from El-Sayed's half-sister. In a 2012 post she described a talk with her mother about her mother's activism in the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1970s while she was in college.

El-Sayed has denied any ties between himself or his family and the group. He called the idea that anyone in his family took part "an insane thing to assume." He says he does not know why his mother was in Egypt in the 1970s. His parents divorced when he was a toddler and he did not see her for years. He asked voters to judge him by his actions and his work.

A money gap and a tight race

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist movement founded in Egypt. It officially rejects violence although some offshoots have been tied to attacks. A federal order signed last November began a process that could label some of its chapters as foreign terrorist organizations.

El-Sayed is being outspent in the final stretch. Republicans and allied groups are on track to put over $29 million into Michigan ads in the last three weeks. Democrats have about $18 million booked. Rogers announced a seven-figure closing ad buy this week. El-Sayed said the national Democratic Senate campaign arm has been supportive and that the other side lacks a message beyond disliking him.

He also said he would campaign with Haley Stevens his former primary rival if the chance comes up. Many Jewish and Black voters backed Stevens in the primary and have been harder for El-Sayed to win. Recent polls show the race within a point or two either way. Early voting in Michigan starts Oct. 24.