Michigan Democrats’ push for unity in the final days of a toss-up Senate race fell apart Friday, as nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign asked Rep. Haley Stevens, his former primary rival, to stay away from all remaining campaign events, according to two sources cited by CBS News. POLITICO was first to report the request.
The break came just hours after Stevens publicly demanded that El-Sayed apologize for Israel-related remarks and condemn an outside group’s ad she called antisemitic, CBS News and NBC News reported. The two had been expected to make a rare joint appearance Sunday at a Detroit church alongside Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, according to NBC News.
El-Sayed campaign wants Stevens to stay away after day of back-and-forth sniping https://t.co/qInptWeIy0
— POLITICO (@politico) October 31, 2026
Stevens demands an apology
According to CBS News, Stevens called on El-Sayed to apologize for suggesting during the campaign that “Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care, and child care.”
“Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” Stevens said in her statement, as quoted by CBS News and NBC News. “He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”
Stevens also urged El-Sayed to condemn a video ad from Rebellion PAC, an outside progressive group, CBS News reported. In the ad, a couple in a grocery store talk about putting a carton of eggs back because “we have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians,” according to CBS News. NBC News reported that El-Sayed is not affiliated with Rebellion PAC and that his campaign had distanced itself from the ad in statements to The New York Times earlier in the week.
Stevens also asked El-Sayed to take down one of his own ads featuring commentator Tucker Carlson, NBC News reported.
El-Sayed fires back
El-Sayed answered in a Friday evening statement, saying Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago,” according to CBS News. NBC News reported that he added, “That focus is why our people-powered campaign defeated a historic $70M in outside spending from big corporations and AIPAC on behalf of Congresswoman Stevens.”
CBS News reported that the El-Sayed campaign’s request for Stevens to stay away from all remaining events came after that exchange, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Stevens had planned to appear with El-Sayed and Clyburn at the Detroit church on Sunday, but an announcement from El-Sayed’s campaign about the Clyburn event did not mention her, according to CBS News.
A household divided
The feud follows another awkward week for Michigan Democrats. Earlier this week, Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, told The Detroit News he would vote for Republican nominee Mike Rogers, CBS News reported. Stevens then told CNN she would still vote for El-Sayed, saying, “We’re a household divided,” according to CBS News.
Why it matters
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race between El-Sayed and Rogers a toss-up, NBC News reported, and CBS News lists Michigan among five Senate toss-ups heading into Tuesday. An open split between Democrats over Israel and antisemitism, days before the vote, could matter in a race where Rogers is trying to win over centrist Democrats, as CBS News noted.
Sources
Sources cited
Sources
- Original post: POLITICO (@politico) on X, Oct 30, 2026
Posts on X are shown as published by their authors; claims in them are attributed, not independently confirmed unless the article says so. If an embedded post does not load, these links open the originals.