Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat seeking a Michigan Senate seat, has repeatedly noted that he captained his high school football team. His campaign website lists that role, and he has posted about it on Instagram.

He invoked the captaincy while criticizing Republican rival Mike Rogers over whether teammates ever chose Rogers as captain. The campaign later cited the same high school football captaincy, El-Sayed’s Saturday Michigan football fandom, and his Fourth of July fireworks celebrations when addressing older video clips.