Tim Scott’s Attacks Hit A Snag

September 11, 2026

A top Senate Republican intensified attacks on Democratic Senate candidates James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed, accusing both of representing the Democratic Party’s far-left wing. But one of Sen. Tim Scott’s attacks against El-Sayed drew a direct fact-check after a Republican ad used a clipped portion of the candidate’s remarks.

Story Snapshot

Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, attacked Texas candidate James Talarico and Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed during convention speeches and TV interviews.
Scott said Talarico believes “God is non-binary” and is out of step with Texas on faith, taxes, and school sports.
Scott called El-Sayed a socialist tied to “Hamas” who is “against America,” using a clipped campaign video as evidence.
A CNN fact-check found the ad cut a 15-second El-Sayed clip out of its original context.
Some commentators, including a CNN panel, questioned whether the attacks carried anti-Muslim undertones.

Scott Targets Talarico Over Faith and Gender Politics

Senator Tim Scott, who leads Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, told television audiences in August 2026 that Texas Senate candidate James Talarico is “completely out of step” with the state. Scott claimed Talarico “believes that God is non-binary” and holds the wrong views on faith, taxes, and letting boys compete against girls in sports. ABC News later noted Talarico has walked those comments back.

Scott repeated similar lines at the Republican convention, framing Democrats broadly as “the most dangerous, radical, and weird” group he has seen in his political career. The message matched a coordinated push across Republican-aligned media in the weeks after the convention, showing Scott’s comments were not off-the-cuff but part of a planned campaign strategy heading into the midterms.

El-Sayed Branded a Radical Tied to Hamas

Scott aimed sharper language at Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed, tying him to “socialism, Marxism, communism” in a Fox News appearance. Scott went further, saying El-Sayed is “for Hamas” and “against America”. Those remarks were not a one-time slip. They appeared repeatedly across NRSC-linked messaging built around a short clip of El-Sayed speaking at a campaign event.

The clip in question shows El-Sayed shouting a 15-second line about being “dangerous” to banks and monopolists who he says are raising prices on ordinary people. Republican ads used that phrase to suggest El-Sayed markets himself as a threat generally, rather than specifically to corporate interests he named in his full remarks.

Fact-Check Finds Scott’s Ad Stripped Context

CNN reviewed the full video behind the ad and reported that El-Sayed was calling himself dangerous only to “a big bank” or “a monopolist” trying to raise prices, not to the public at large. CNN concluded Scott’s team had taken the quote out of context when building the attack. Scott defended the ad on air, saying the criticism was about “what he stands for,” not his name, while repeating the claim that El-Sayed is sympathetic to Hamas.

Scott also argued El-Sayed is “inconsistent with Michiganders of either side of the aisle” and therefore “just wrong for Michigan,” a broader electability claim separate from the Hamas allegation. A CNN panel discussion grew heated when Democrats accused Republicans of signaling El-Sayed’s Muslim faith by repeatedly using his full name in attacks, a charge Scott did not directly answer.

Slip-Up and Pushback Raise Questions About the Strategy

The rollout hit a rough patch when Scott appeared to confuse the two Senate races. One report quoted him saying Republicans must “stop Talarico in Michigan by electing Mike Rogers,” a mix-up since Talarico is running in Texas, before he corrected himself to reference El-Sayed. Critics called the mistake “idiotic,” pointing to it as evidence the attack lines were scripted talking points rather than tailored critiques.

Talarico’s campaign pushed back with its own contrast, pointing to 20,000 pounds of groceries collected for working Texans and comparing that to what Talarico called Republican attorney general Ken Paxton’s ties to billionaire donors. Scott responded by warning that Democrats are “bound and determined to turn the page to socialism today and communism tomorrow,” keeping the ideological framing at the center of the fight heading into November.