Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign has told Rep. Haley Stevens to stay away from his final events in Michigan, killing a last-minute show of unity between the old primary rivals days before Tuesday’s vote.
USA TODAY learned of the request from a source who asked not to be named. Politico reported it first.
The two were supposed to share a stage on Nov. 1, at a church, with South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn. Then Stevens put out a long statement on Oct. 30. She wanted El-Sayed to condemn, as antisemitic, an outside group’s ad that pins cost-of-living pain on aid to Israel, and to apologize for his own campaign rhetoric.
“Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” Stevens wrote. “He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”
El-Sayed shot back that Stevens seemed “intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” Beating Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, he said, is the job now.
Neither campaign answered right away. Spokespersons for Stevens and for El-Sayed did not immediately respond to USA TODAY, which also asked what happens to the Nov. 1 event.
The ad at the center of the dispute shows a young couple in a grocery store discussing whether they can afford groceries because their money goes toward supporting Israel. Rebellion PAC put the spot out. Commentator Cenk Uygur created the group; a version of the ad first ran for his failed 2024 presidential bid.
In a statement, the campaign disowned the ad, saying it “is not affiliated in any way” with El-Sayed’s run. “No one speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign,” the statement read.
Stevens was not satisfied with that distance. “A disclaimer is not a condemnation, and everyone in my community knows the difference,” she said.
Other Democrats questioned why Stevens was pressing the fight so close to the election. “I have no idea what the hell Haley Stevens is doing,” state Sen. Mallory McMorrow said on CNN’s “The Arena” on Oct. 30. McMorrow dropped out of the Michigan Senate primary. “This is a moment where we have to recognize the stakes.”
Questions about Stevens’ support had been building for days. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, told the Detroit News on Oct. 28 that he plans to vote for Rogers. Stevens then told CNN she plans to vote for El-Sayed, and a day later news broke that she would attend the church event.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who helped arrange the joint appearance, defended the effort on “Meet the Press NOW” on Oct. 30. “I think everybody here is working for victory on Tuesday and being strong as a broader team,” Dingell said.
In her statement, Stevens also noted that Uygur is the uncle of Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer and progressive surrogate El-Sayed campaigned with during the primary but has since sought to distance himself from.
El-Sayed pointed back to the August primary, when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and groups linked to it spent tens of millions of dollars to boost Stevens and defeat him. He credited his win to a focus on affordability.
“Now the stakes are even higher – defeating Trump’s handpicked candidate, taking back the Senate, and defending our democracy,” his statement read. “That should be the priority for all of us right now.”
The race could help decide control of the U.S. Senate.
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