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MapAbdul El-Sayed Tells Haley Stevens To Stay Away From Michigan Campaign Events
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El-Sayed told Stevens to stay away from his campaign events and revoked Sunday invite. The feud with Stevens worsened ahead of Michigan Senate race, spoiling planned joint appearance.
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Detroit unity, then sniping
Abdul El-Sayed told Representative Haley Stevens to stay away from his campaign events and revoked an invitation to a planned Sunday appearance, as a source close to NewsNation, The Hill's broadcasting partner, confirmed. El-Sayed was to appear linked to Stevens and Representative Jim Clyburn at a church in Detroit, a show of unity despite some sharp words exchanged between the two candidates ahead of this week’s vote.
Stevens issued a statement saying she had accepted Clyburn’s invitation to appear alongside El-Sayed, but she criticized El-Sayed for not condemning an ad that appeared to blame Israel for high food prices. El-Sayed responded in a Friday statement saying Stevens is focused on relitigating the August primary, which he narrowly won, and he said, “So, if indeed Congresswoman Stevens seems set on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago, let all of us focus on the task at hand: defeating Mike Rogers, holding Trump accountable, and taking money out of politics.”
Ad dispute and party strain
Stevens said the ad did not invent El-Sayed’s argument and she told him, “Therefore, I also expect him to apologize for those statements.” El-Sayed’s campaign said the ad was not affiliated “in any way” with him or his candidacy, and it said the video ad was created by the political action committee Rebellion PAC.
Mike Rogers seized on the fractured Democratic dynamic and told MS NOW, “I would welcome her, if she wanted to join us at an event or any of our campaign events, I welcome her to do that,” as he campaigned three days out from Election Day. El-Sayed brushed off a call from Stevens to denounce the controversial advertisement criticizing the United States’ foreign aid for Israel, and El-Sayed said in a statement Friday night that Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.”
What is at stake next
The feud among top Democrats in Michigan escalated and threw new doubt into a race that could determine which party controls the Senate. The Democrats must flip at least four seats and retain all of their own to regain control of the upper chamber, and Michigan is described as the best opportunity for Republicans to pick up a seat.
The Democratic establishment was rallying around El-Sayed amid extreme attacks from Donald Trump and his allies, and El-Sayed accused the president in a statement of trying to “use my name and my faith to distract us” from the cost of gas, groceries and healthcare. El-Sayed and Stevens would campaign on Sunday in Detroit alongside Jim Clyburn at a Detroit church to boost voter turnout, and the joint appearance would be their first since the Democratic unity breakfast held days after the August 4 primary.