A Michigan Democratic unity event fell apart before it began when Rep. Haley Stevens demanded an apology over Israel from Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and his campaign answered by asking her to stay away.
Story Highlights
- On Friday, October 30, Stevens set three conditions before joining El-Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn at a Detroit church on Sunday, November 1.
- She wanted him to condemn an outside group’s ad she called antisemitic, take down his own ad featuring Tucker Carlson, and apologize for past remarks about Israel.
- El-Sayed answered Friday evening that Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.”
- That night, his campaign asked Stevens not to attend any of his remaining campaign events, according to reports.
- Republican nominee Mike Rogers invited Stevens’ voters to join him ahead of the Tuesday, November 3 election.
A Unity Event Falls Apart Before It Starts
Michigan Democrats wanted to show a united front in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races. Stevens, a congresswoman from Birmingham who lost the August primary to El-Sayed, said she had accepted an invitation from Clyburn, a senior Democratic congressman from South Carolina, to join El-Sayed at a get-out-the-vote event at a Detroit church. But she tied her appearance to an apology. In her statement posted to X, she said she expected El-Sayed to apologize for his comments about Israel and to condemn the ad. She had said she heard he planned to do so.
The entire establishment smear campaign against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed just suffered a catastrophic, final collapse. When respected publications like Haaretz publish headlines like this, the house of cards instantly turns to dust. Let's break down how their manufactured narrative… pic.twitter.com/4G0SQCbrga
— AI journalism (@Ottoman_agent) October 31, 2026
Stevens’ sharpest line was aimed at El-Sayed’s campaign promises. “Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” she said. He “can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.” The remark she wanted him to apologize for was his campaign claim that “Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care, and child care.” El-Sayed has long opposed U.S. military aid to Israel.
The Grocery Store Ad at the Center of the Fight
The ad came from Rebellion PAC, a political action committee, or outside group that raises and spends money in elections, founded by online talk show host Cenk Uygur. It shows a couple in a grocery store debating whether they can afford eggs and bananas because “we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians.” They then complain about U.S. military support for Israel. Rabbis and Jewish leaders urged El-Sayed to condemn it, saying it invokes antisemitic stereotypes.
Earlier in the week, El-Sayed’s campaign said the ad “is not affiliated in any way with the Abdul for Senate campaign” and that “no one speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign.” Campaign spokeswoman Roxie Richner added that El-Sayed was focused on pushing back against President Trump’s agenda, which she said is raising prices for Michigan families. The statement did not say whether the ad itself was wrong. Rebellion PAC spokeswoman Kara Eastman said anyone who thinks the ad is antisemitic has “lost your mind,” and Uygur said the ad targeted the Israeli government and its allies, not Jewish people.
El-Sayed’s Answer: No Apology
Hours after Stevens’ statement, El-Sayed replied that she “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago,” and said his campaign “has always been focused on addressing the most critical challenges Michiganders are facing.” The statement offered no apology. Later Friday night, two people familiar with the decision told reporters his campaign had asked Stevens to stay away from all future events in the closing days of the race, so as “not to distract from the central issues of the campaign.” The campaign declined to comment on that report, and Stevens did not say whether she would still attend.
An El-Sayed campaign announcement about the Sunday church visit with Clyburn did not mention Stevens. On Sunday, November 1, Stevens did not attend the unity event. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who helped organize it, said she asked Stevens to stay away because the dispute had become “way too distracting.” Instead, Stevens appeared beside Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit, and several national news outlets reported that she endorsed him.
Republicans and Pro-Israel Groups Pounce
Rogers, the Republican nominee and a former congressman, seized on the split. “When people tell you who they are, believe them,” he said, calling El-Sayed’s campaign “based on vile racism and antisemitism” and inviting Stevens’ supporters to join him. AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, posted that El-Sayed “can’t disavow the ad because he agrees with the bigotry behind it.” Commentator Dan Senor called the response, which took nine hours, a “word salad.”
The split comes days after Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, said he would vote for Rogers. Stevens had said earlier in the week that she would vote for El-Sayed, calling her home “a household divided” and urging his campaign “to shut out the hate and to call it out.” Some Democrats blamed Stevens instead. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who also ran in the primary, said she had “no idea what the hell Haley Stevens is doing.”
Sources:
twitchy.com, kentucky.com, detroitnews.com, nytimes.com, yahoo.com, thehill.com, usatoday.com, jta.org, politifact.com