US Vice-President JD Vance has waded into Michigan’s bitter senate race, calling Democratic newcomer Abdul El-Sayed “evil” as he backs Trump ally Mike Rogers in the closely-fought contest.

At an event to support Rogers, Vance also warned El-Sayed to “keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth”, after the candidate appeared to suggest that Vance’s late grandfather would not accept Second Lady Usha Vance, who is Hindu.

El-Sayed hit back at Vance later on Monday, accusing the Trump administration of pushing “evil” policies and of “starting wars abroad when there’s peace”.

Recent polling suggests he holds a narrow lead over Rogers in the key battleground state.

Speaking at a rally for Rogers in a Detroit suburb on Monday night, Vance repeatedly accused El-Sayed – who is Muslim – of being a divisive figure with little interest in bringing communities together.

“I realise that there’s something about Abdul El-Sayed that is very, very evil and on the rise in the United States of America today,” Vance said, adding that he was seeking to “destroy” the country.

“My message to Abdul El-Sayed is: You can pal around with terrorist sympathisers, and you can say that America deserved 9/11, or you could empathise not with the children who were targeted at Temple Israel, but with the attacker,” the vice-president said.

During his primary, El-Sayed campaigned alongside controversial far-left influencer and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once suggested that the US “deserved” the attacks in New York and Washington.

While El-Sayed never said those words and has since distanced himself from Piker, Vance repeatedly linked the two together during his speech.

In an interview with CNN later on Monday, El-Sayed took his own jabs at Vance, accusing the vice-president of a series of “evil” policies during the Trump administration.

“Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires,” El-Sayed said. “Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war. Evil is dividing people for your own gain. Evil is selling out your morals for a little bit of power.”

He also sought to clarify his previous comments about the Vance family and the Second Lady, saying that he was seeking to demonstrate that Vance “believes in a political philosophy that says that some people are somehow more American than others”.

The Michigan Senate race is among the most high profile of the upcoming midterm elections and takes place in a key battleground state that former President Joe Biden won in 2020 and Donald Trump won in 2024.

A survey released earlier this week by Michigan firm Epic-MRA suggests Al-Sayed has a narrow four-point lead over Rogers, a former law enforcement officer with long experience in politics.