Abdul El-Sayed's campaign has asked Representative Haley Stevens to stay away from all of his remaining campaign events in the closing days of the Michigan Senate race, according to two people familiar with the matter — a public rift between the Democratic nominee and the congresswoman he beat in the party's primary, breaking into the open days before Tuesday's vote. The request, first reported by Politico, is that Stevens forgo his events through the November 3 election so as not to distract from the central issues of the campaign.
The clash came to a head on Friday. Stevens issued a statement affirming her support for El-Sayed, who defeated her in the early-August primary and whom she had endorsed — but in the same statement she demanded that he condemn an advertisement from an outside group, Rebellion PAC, that blamed Israel for high grocery prices and that she called antisemitic; that he apologize for suggesting during the campaign that "Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care, and child care"; and that he take down his own ad featuring the podcaster and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. El-Sayed's campaign had said earlier in the week that it was not affiliated "in any way" with the Rebellion PAC ad.
El-Sayed answered on Friday evening. Stevens, he said, "seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago." He noted that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent heavily to defeat him in that primary, and he urged Democrats to focus on beating the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, holding President Trump accountable, getting money out of politics and passing Medicare for All.
The two had been expected to make a rare joint appearance on Sunday at a Detroit church service alongside Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, in a show of party unity. That plan unravelled: an announcement from El-Sayed's campaign about his appearance with Clyburn did not mention Stevens at all. Representative Debbie Dingell told CNN she had spoken with Stevens and told her the arrangement was not working, that the tension had become a distraction and that nothing would be gained by having them in the same place. State Senator Mallory McMorrow, also a Democrat, told CNN she had no idea what Stevens was doing. Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, told Fox News on Saturday that he was uncertain whether she would still attend the Sunday service — and the Guardian has reported that Turkish has campaigned on behalf of Rogers, the Republican.
For Michigan voters, the fight is not a sideshow. The state's open Senate seat is one of the most closely contested races in the country, and Rogers is openly working to peel off centrist Democratic voters. A Democratic nominee spending the final weekend at war with a congresswoman from his own party — instead of making a united closing case — is the kind of division that decides a seat this close, and with it, potentially, control of the Senate.
Stevens' office did not immediately return a request for comment on the stay-away request.
📰 ProfiloPolitics Member News — choose your news, share it, earn credit: https://white-curlew-963569.hostingersite.com
Join ProfiloPolitics on Telegram
Get the news as it breaks — follow our Telegram channel for every story, first.
Follow @profilopoliticsnews