Beat Ohio' isn't the gaffe some El-Sayed critics think it is | Insider

A political dispute over Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s remark about wanting to see the University of Michigan “beat Ohio” during a TV interview on Aug. 28 has been met with pushback. Critics including Republican figures argued he confused football rivals, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz asking what it said that El-Sayed “has never heard of Ohio State.” Rod Blagojevich similarly mocked the comments. But the article points to Michigan’s own history of using “beat Ohio” as shorthand for Ohio State University, despite the state having an “Ohio University” separate from OSU. It cites examples like a “BEATOH” license plate, Michigan politicians, and official university social media posts. Justin Amash also defended El-Sayed on X.