Medicare for All and stronger AI regulations are among the priorities for the U.S. Senate hopeful, who declined to weigh in on California’s proposed billionaire tax.

Sep 30, 2026

Updated 4:53 pm PT

Laura Fitzgerald

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed makes an appearance at the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee convention at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on Sept. 30, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)

Michigan Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday with a message for California’s largest nurses union:

“When they say we can have guaranteed healthcare through Medicare for All, we won’t back down,” El-Sayed shouted from the stage at a convention of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United in San Francisco.

The up-and-coming progressive icon is locked in one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country, one that will help determine which party controls the chamber following the midterm elections. El-Sayed is also tapping into his rising political profile to rally for progressive causes in California.  

Both El-Sayed and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who appeared at the convention virtually, made the case for Medicare for All in a packed ballroom of unionized nurses. Attendees jumped to their feet when Sanders appeared on screen and again to cheer for El-Sayed, who wore a denim jacket embroidered with the nurses union’s red logos.

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks at the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee convention at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on Sept. 30, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)

Bernie Sanders speaks through video at the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee convention at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on Sept. 30, 2026.

Attendees listen to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speak at the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee convention at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in San Francisco on Sept. 30, 2026.

“Bernie Sanders and our union, our organization, go way back,” said Cathy Kennedy, a retired nurse and president of National Nurses United. “So, the values that we have as nurses, our vision for a healthy society, Senator Sanders has been in the forefront of that.”

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former public health official, is also pushing for a single-payer healthcare system as a main pillar of his political platform.

“They are the values of this organization … Medicare for All, because it is a human right, not just for the privileged,” Kennedy said.

The California Nurses Association has long pushed for a single-payer healthcare system in California, though multiple legislative attempts in Sacramento have fallen short. The organization is backing candidates for federal office who share their vision as healthcare providers grapple with increased workloads and a rapidly growing cost of living.

The union is also calling for stronger regulations around the use of artificial intelligence tools for staffing, scheduling and data collection in the healthcare delivery system.