Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed placed both hands on a British reporter's shoulders during a tense exchange on Tuesday. The Democratic candidate demanded the journalist stop "chasing" him while dismissing the relevance of international media coverage. This incident occurred as voters decided the fate of a key Senate seat in Michigan.
Matthews admitted he was not registered in the state but noted he is a journalist. El-Sayed responded immediately, "Then why would I care to have a conversation with you?"
Matthews argued that the result of the Michigan Senate race "matters to the world." El-Sayed rejected this point, stating he wants "zero" votes from the United Kingdom. He told the reporter, "You know how many votes I want to get into the U.K.? Zero." He added, "I do not care what you think or the questions you ask."
Michigan's Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed confronted @jamesmatthewsky, telling him he wouldn't answer his questions as he wants "zero" votes in the UK.
Watch the heated exchange between the two.
Watch our live coverage of the US midterms➡️ https://t.co/hrELyhg17W
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 3, 2026
At this stage of the exchange, El-Sayed placed both hands on the reporter's shoulders. He demanded, "I'm asking you to stop chasing me around." The candidate also slammed Sky News's viewership in the United States, claiming that "like five people watch it." Several angles show an angry El-Sayed stepping uncomfortably close to Matthews before making physical contact.
El-Sayed questioned the scope of the reporter's influence by asking, "A senator in where, what country?" Matthews replied, "In the United States of America" and added that the US holds "The leader of the free world." El-Sayed continued to assert that he is never running for office in the UK.
El-Sayed is running against Michigan Republican Mike Rogers to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters. As Michigan polls close at 8 p.m. local time, the Washington Examiner noted that the Senate race has not been called yet. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate.
The Daily Wire referred to El-Sayed as "Senator-elect" and stated he won hours before the confrontation, while other reports say the race remains uncalled. The conflicting status of the election outcome adds confusion to the night's events. No official results have been verified by state officials at the time of the incident.
Matthews tried to respond to the candidate's questions, saying, "I'm not, I'm a journalist —" before El-Sayed cut him off. The candidate emphasized the words "do not care" regarding the reporter's opinion. The exchange was captured on video and shared widely on social media platforms.