Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed asks Rep. Haley Stevens to skip joint campaign events amid Israel-related dispute

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Michigan, will not attend a Sunday rally in Detroit that was to feature Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina, after the El-Sayed campaign asked her to stay away. A campaign advisory sent Saturday listed only El-Sayed and Clyburn as participants.

Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the August Democratic primary, said she still intends to vote for him but demanded that he condemn a grocery-store ad produced by the outside progressive group Rebellion PAC that she described as antisemitic. > "This ad tells Michigan families they cannot afford groceries because their money has to be set aside for ‘killing Palestinians,’ and it blames our close ally Israel for everything Michiganders cannot afford," Stevens said in a statement. She also urged El-Sayed to remove an ad featuring right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, citing respect for Michigan’s Black community.

El-Sayed, who is not affiliated with Rebellion PAC, distanced his campaign from the ad and responded that Stevens, a strong supporter of Israel, appears intent on “relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” He highlighted his campaign’s focus on affordability and health care, noting it defeated a $70 million outside-spending effort that included support for Stevens from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The disagreement emerged days before Michigan voters choose between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate, a race the Cook Political Report rates as a toss-up. Other Michigan Democrats, including state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Debbie Dingell, have commented on the conflict, with Dingell saying the controversy should not distract from broader policy debates.