The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has issued its first-ever national electoral endorsement in the organization's 110-year history. This decision was not made lightly. In what the organization describes as an unprecedented political moment, the AAUP is calling for a fundamental shift in how the nation values and supports higher education and academic institutions.
The national AAUP has endorsed Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. According to AAUP President Todd Wolfson, this is the first time the national organization has made an electoral endorsement.
AFT-Michigan has also endorsed Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, with very strong support.
Earlier this month, the AAUP surveyed its Michigan members about whether the organization should make an endorsement. A majority of those who voted supported issuing an endorsement, and of those members, almost all favored endorsing Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. El-Sayed has longstanding ties to the AAUP. His father previously served as an AAUP chapter president, and El-Sayed himself is a former AAUP member.
Below is the official endorsement issued by AAUP National:
The AAUP is proud to endorse Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate in the Michigan Democratic primary. Dr. El-Sayed is a fierce champion for debt-free and tuition-free higher education and will be an invaluable ally for academic freedom and higher education as a public good in Washington. He has vowed to stand up to the Trump Administration’s ideological assault on the sector and defend the rights of students and faculty to speak out on political issues, question authority, and engage in peaceful protest without fear of retribution. El-Sayed is a former professor and has been a member of several higher education labor unions, including the AAUP. El-Sayed has also been endorsed by AFT-Michigan, Wayne Academic Union (AAUP-AFT), United Auto Workers, and National Nurses United.
The endorsement follows action taken at the AAUP's 2026 Biennial Meeting, held in Chicago in June. During the meeting, AAUP members unanimously approved a package of resolutions intended to strengthen the union's ability to advocate for the future of higher education and democracy. The AAUP's National Governing Council also committed to becoming more directly engaged in political advocacy and advancing an agenda that supports debt-free public higher education while confronting authoritarian threats to the sector, including censorship, program elimination, and efforts to control curriculum, hiring, and research.