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PolitiFact Calls Cruz’s El-Sayed Muslim Brotherhood Claim False

By Drooid · Oct 29, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

Senator Ted Cruz warned that electing Abdul El-Sayed could give him access to information.
PolitiFact later found Cruz’s allegation that El-Sayed has Muslim Brotherhood ties false.
Late-October polls show El-Sayed leading Republican Mike Rogers by 1–8 points in a toss-up.
Cruz warned an El-Sayed win would shift the Democratic caucus leftward and boost Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2028 presidential chances.

History

False rumors that Barack Obama was Muslim first appeared during his 2004 Senate run and spread through viral emails by 2006. A March 2008 Pew poll found 10 % of respondents—rising to 30 % of Republicans by August 2010—believing the claim, prompting the campaign’s FightTheSmears.com site. Senator Ted Cruz’s recent allegation about Abdul El-Sayed revives the same smear pattern.

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False rumors that Barack Obama was Muslim first appeared during his 2004 Senate run and spread through viral emails by 2006. A March 2008 Pew poll found 10 % of respondents—rising to 30 % of Republicans by August 2010—believing the claim, prompting the campaign’s FightTheSmears.com site. Senator Ted Cruz’s recent allegation about Abdul El-Sayed revives the same smear pattern.

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