Rows of people brim with excitement as they wait for Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat running for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, to take the stage at a town hall event in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium on the campus of Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Hundreds of attendees filled the venue to the brim, forcing some to stand where there was room in the back for the duration of the event. (CM Life | Cristin Coppess)
