On Election Day, Abdul El-Sayed, who is running to represent Michigan in the US Senate, dropped a campaign ad set to Eminem’s “Not Afraid”.
The song’s lyrics and energy fit well with the footage from El-Sayed’s campaign trail. And normally, it would have indicated the consistent support Eminem gives Democratic candidates in recent years.
Being notoriously picky about how his songs are used in ads, political and commercial alike, Marshall rarely licenses his music to politicians. You can count on one hand the candidates who’ve used his music in campaign ads. All of them are Democrats.
Kamala Harris’s campaign used “Till I Collapse” in a video released just ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Before that, in 2020, Eminem licensed “Lose Yourself” to Joe Biden. It was the first time Marshall had allowed one of his songs to be used in a political campaign.
In the case of Abdul El-Sayed, it appeared that Marshall did not give his explicit permission for it. Initially, the Detroit Free Press reported that the campaign worked directly with Eminem to secure the rights to the song, citing a source familiar with the deal. However, later an Eminem spokesperson told the outlet that El-Sayed’s campaign had not contacted Eminem. The paper has asked the campaign for comment.
Michigan. It’s time. It’s up to us to show the country what’s possible.
The world is watching.
Polls are open 7AM-8PM. https://t.co/P0wfv8acCU
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) November 3, 2026