Michigan Senate Race Unity Falters as Abdul El-Sayed Tells Haley Stevens to Stay Away From Campaign Events
Democratic unity in Michigan’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race fractured on Friday when progressive nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign asked primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens to steer clear of their remaining joint events, The Washington Post reported. The public rift erupted just days before a planned Sunday rally in Detroit featuring civil rights leader Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., exposing lingering tensions from a bitter August primary battle that El-Sayed won by a razor-thin 1% margin.
The sudden fallout began Friday afternoon after El-Sayed issued a public statement admonishing Stevens for relitigating past primary grievances, according to HuffPost. Hours earlier, Stevens published a lengthy social media post defending her decision to appear with El-Sayed on Sunday while simultaneously demanding apologies from her former opponent over a controversial third-party campaign advertisement and past statements regarding Israel.
Haley Stevens Demands Apologies Over Israel Ad and Tucker Carlson Campaign Video
Stevens grounded her conditional support for the Democratic nominee in a demand for accountability regarding a digital ad produced by the external progressive group Rebellion PAC, NBC News reported. The commercial, set in a grocery store, attributes high prices in Michigan to money spent on military aid for Israel. Stevens called the ad antisemitic and asserted that El-Sayed must formally condemn it and apologize for his own rhetoric connecting Israel to domestic economic struggles.
Abdul promises to get money out of politics. He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford,
Stevens said in a Friday statement reported by NBC News. The congresswoman also demanded that El-Sayed take down one of his own campaign videos featuring right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson out of respect for Michigan’s Black community.
El-Sayed’s campaign is entirely unaffiliated with Rebellion PAC and previously distanced itself from the outside group, according to reporting by The New York Times. Responding to Stevens on Friday, El-Sayed accused his former rival of sabotaging party unity in the final stretch of the election.
So while Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago, let’s all focus on the task at hand: that’s beating Mike Rogers, holding Trump accountable, and getting money out of politics, putting money in pockets, and passing Medicare for All,
El-Sayed said in a statement cited by HuffPost. El-Sayed’s campaign pointed out that his primary victory came despite facing roughly $70 million in outside spending from big corporations and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on behalf of Stevens.
Democratic Leaders and Surrogates Split Over the Campaign Trail Clash
The public sparring triggered immediate fallout across the national political landscape. On Wednesday, Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, told The Detroit News that he had never seen a Senate candidate act so recklessly toward the safety of Jewish constituents and announced he would vote for Republican nominee Mike Rogers instead, as noted by HuffPost. Later that week on CNN, Stevens affirmed she would still vote for the Democratic ticket but reiterated her demands for an apology. On TMZ Friday, Turkish maintained that Stevens would still show up for Sunday’s event if Clyburn requested her presence, though her long-term support remained unsettled without a public condemnation from El-Sayed.
Meanwhile, online progressive figures slammed Stevens for failing to offer an unreserved endorsement during her television appearances, with Fox News reporting intense backlash from left-wing commentators. Conversely, moderate strategists like Lis Smith defended candidates seeking distance or alignment based on local voter appeal, according to Fox News.
Attempting to calm intraparty turbulence, senior Michigan Representative Debbie Dingell downplayed the dispute during an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press NOW. Dingell, who helped broker the Sunday event alongside Clyburn, argued that outside observers were manufacturing controversy away from critical policy debates.
I think that, quite frankly, a lot of people are trying to create more controversy here, when I think the real discussion should be about what’s been happening in Washington and how we’ve got to stand up to what we’ve seen in the last two years,
Dingell said.
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