El-Sayed Asks Stevens to Stay Away From Final Michigan Senate Events as Feud Flares Days Before Election

Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has asked former primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens to stay away from his campaign events through Election Day, a request that ended a late bid to show party unity in Michigan days before voters choose a senator in a race that could decide control of the Senate.

Stevens may not attend a Detroit church event with El-Sayed on Sunday after his campaign asked her to forgo future appearances, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The request, first reported by Politico on Friday, asked Stevens to stay away from campaign events through the November 3 election so as not to distract from the central issues of the campaign.

The Sunday event, scheduled for 1 p.m. EST, had been expected to bring the two former rivals together for the first time in months, alongside South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn. Stevens issued a statement on Friday affirming her support for El-Sayed while demanding that he condemn an outside group’s advertisement blaming Israel for high grocery prices and apologize for his past rhetoric about Israel.

The advertisement at the center of the dispute

The dispute centers on an advertisement from Rebellion PAC, a political action committee created by left-wing commentator Cenk Uygur, that links high grocery prices to United States support for Israel. The ad shows a young couple in a grocery store discussing whether they can afford groceries because their money goes toward supporting Israel, according to USA Today. El-Sayed’s campaign has said the ad is not affiliated with the campaign in any way.

Stevens wrote in her statement that El-Sayed should condemn the ad as antisemitic. “Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” she wrote. “He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.” She also said a disclaimer from the campaign was not a condemnation, adding, “everyone in my community knows the difference.”

El-Sayed responded that Stevens seemed “intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago” instead of focusing on defeating Republican nominee Mike Rogers. He defeated Stevens in the Democratic primary in early August, and the two have largely not campaigned together since, according to Reuters.

Questions about Stevens’ support have grown in recent days. Her fiance, Jason Turkish, told the Detroit News on October 28 that he plans to vote for Rogers. Stevens then told CNN that she plans to vote for El-Sayed, describing her household as divided. Turkish told Fox News on Saturday that he was uncertain whether Stevens would still attend the Sunday church event, and said her only ask was that the campaign not blame high costs on one group of people.

A seat that could decide Senate control

Democrats hope to defeat Rogers to capture the seat held by Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who is not running for reelection. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, and the Michigan race is one of the most closely watched contests in next week’s elections.

Recent polling suggests El-Sayed has largely consolidated Democratic support despite the feud. A Mitchell Research and Communications poll conducted for Michigan television stations found that 94% of Democrats back El-Sayed, compared with 91% of Republicans supporting Rogers, according to Reuters.

Matt Grossmann, a political science professor at Michigan State University, told Reuters he did not think the latest flare-up would move that many voters, saying polling numbers had mostly priced in any reluctance by Stevens’ supporters to back El-Sayed. “It’s certainly unhelpful to the El-Sayed campaign to have continued visible division within the party just before Election Day,” Grossmann said. “But the latest moves don’t reveal anything new about the conflict.”

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and USA Today.