The campaign of Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, has asked his former primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens, to stay away from all campaign events, capping a day of increasingly pointed statements over an outside group's ad on Israel that drew in President Donald Trump and Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
The dispute centers on an ad run by Rebellion PAC, a left-wing group founded by Cenk Uygur, the uncle of El-Sayed booster Hasan Piker, that blames the high cost of groceries on Israel and has been condemned as antisemitic by Jewish leaders. Stevens asked El-Sayed to condemn the ad and apologize for his own comments suggesting Israel is responsible for Michigan's inability to afford schools, healthcare and childcare.
Stevens said that if the words were wrong when a PAC supporting his campaign used them, they were equally wrong when El-Sayed used them, since he had said them from the start. "I therefore expect him to apologize for those statements as well," she said. Her demand came ahead of a possible joint appearance on Sunday with El-Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) at a church in Detroit.
El-Sayed responded on Friday by accusing Stevens of "relitigating a primary that ended three months ago." "Our campaign is and has always been focused on addressing the most critical challenges Michiganders are facing: skyrocketing gas prices, unaffordable groceries, and the inability to see a doctor," he said, adding that this focus was why his "people-powered campaign" defeated historic outside spending, which he put at $70 million, from big corporations and AIPAC on behalf of Stevens. "So while Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago, let's all focus on the task at hand: that's beating Mike Rogers, holding Trump accountable, and getting money out of politics, putting money in pockets, and passing Medicare for All."
Two people familiar with the decision told Politico that Stevens should stay away "as not to distract from the central issues of the campaign." Stevens did not immediately respond to a question about whether she would stay off the trail. The ad at the center of the dispute shows a conversation in a grocery store in which a woman tells a man they cannot buy eggs because they have to set aside money for "killing Palestinians"; El-Sayed's campaign has previously noted he was not affiliated with it.
Rogers seized on the fight, saying on social media on Friday evening that Stevens was "right" to call out El-Sayed. "Representative Haley Stevens is a courageous leader who deserves the respect of every Michigan voter," he said. "She has conducted herself with nothing but class since the Democratic primary, a primary where a majority of voters did not vote for her party's nominee."
Trump weighed in at a Friday night rally in Daytona, Florida, saying that Black and Jewish voters who vote for El-Sayed are "not smart."
The infighting frustrated Democrats, who said it risked imperiling a state the party could hardly afford to lose. Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who was squeezed out of the Democratic primary, told CNN that "people are not talking about ads. They are not talking about Haley Stevens. They are talking about the price of gas and groceries." State Rep. Joe Tate, a Detroit Democrat who backed Stevens in the primary and now supports El-Sayed, said everyone was "on the same page of Democrats just beating Mike Rogers," while acknowledging that when people have competed through a primary, "it can always have those lingering effects."
Michigan is among the key Senate races that could decide control of the chamber, with the party saying it can hardly afford to lose the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters. El-Sayed narrowly defeated Stevens in an August primary that exposed divisions over support for Israel, and polling averages show him ahead of Rogers by one point. Earlier this week, Stevens's fiancee, Jason Turkish, told the Detroit News he planned to vote for Rogers; Stevens told CNN she would vote for El-Sayed, describing the couple as "a household divided" and calling on his campaign to "shut out the hate and to call it out."
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Michigan is one of the most closely watched races of the 2026 midterms: control of the Senate could hinge on holding retiring Sen. Gary Peters's seat, and polling averages put the race at just one point.
- The fight over the Rebellion PAC ad has exposed the deepest fault line in the Democratic coalition, with Jewish leaders condemning the ad as antisemitic and Trump and Rogers using the split to attack the nominee. It could shape turnout among Jewish and Arab-American voters and the party's left flank that rallied behind El-Sayed's primary bid.
- The dispute is unfolding in the final days of the campaign, when any distraction or demoralization of the base can be decisive in a one-point race.
Background
El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health director, defeated Stevens in an August primary that laid bare Democratic division over Israel and the war in Gaza, a fault line that has run through party primaries nationwide in recent years. The intervention of outside groups and online figures such as Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker has amplified those tensions in Michigan. Democrats must hold Peters's open seat while trying to flip Republican-held seats elsewhere, making internal unity in Michigan essential to their path to a Senate majority.
Key Perspectives
The El-Sayed campaign: wants Stevens to stay away from campaign events so as "not to distract from the central issues of the campaign," and argues the focus should be on beating Mike Rogers.
Rep. Haley Stevens: says the ad's words are equally wrong when El-Sayed says them and expects an apology; she will vote for El-Sayed, calling the couple "a household divided."
Mike Rogers: says Stevens is "right" to call out El-Sayed and has conducted herself with "nothing but class" since the primary.
President Donald Trump: told a Florida rally that Black and Jewish voters who vote for El-Sayed are "not smart."
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow: voters are talking about the price of gas and groceries, not ads or Stevens.
State Rep. Joe Tate: says Democrats are "on the same page" about beating Rogers, though primaries can leave "those lingering effects."
What to Watch
- Whether Stevens appears as planned with El-Sayed and Clyburn at Sunday's Detroit church event, or heeds the request to stay away.
- Whether El-Sayed answers Stevens's demand to condemn the ad and apologize for his past comments, or keeps his focus on Rogers.
- The Nov. 3 result: whether the feud depresses Democratic turnout in a race polling at roughly a one-point margin.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 3 sources: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedEl-Sayed’s campaign asked Stevens to stay away from all campaign events.Politics: “El-Sayed’s campaign is asking Stevens to stay away from all future campaign events in the closing days of the race”
- Partly supportedThe summary frames the dueling statements as being over the outside group’s Israel ad.Politics: “In response, El-Sayed did not touch on the ad or his past comments on Israel”
- SupportedThe election is on November 3.El País English: “Not all of them may win on the night of November 3”
- SupportedThe Michigan Senate race could determine control of the chamber.Washington Examiner: “The Michigan contest is among the key Senate races that could determine control of the chamber.”
- SupportedStevens said, “I therefore expect him to apologize for those statements as well.”Washington Examiner: ““I therefore expect him to apologize for those statements as well.””
- SupportedEl-Sayed put outside spending at $70 million and said it came from big corporations and AIPAC on Stevens’s behalf.Washington Examiner: ““That focus is why our people-powered campaign defeated a historic $70M in outside spending from big corporations and AlPAC on behalf of Congresswoman Stevens.””
- Partly supportedTwo people familiar with the decision told Politico that Stevens should stay away “as not to distract from the central issues of the campaign.”Politics: “She should stay away “as not to distract from the central issues of the campaign,” one of the people said.”
- SupportedThe ad depicts a woman telling a man they cannot buy eggs because they must set aside money for “killing Palestinians.”Politics: “The ad featured a conversation in a grocery store where a woman told a man they couldn't buy eggs because they had to set aside money for “killing Palestinians.””
- SupportedJewish leaders condemned the ad as antisemitic.Washington Examiner: “The ad blames the high cost of groceries on Israel, which Jewish leaders have condemned as antisemitic.”
- SupportedRogers called Stevens “right” to call out El-Sayed and praised her as a courageous leader.Washington Examiner: “Rogers was quick to seize on the dispute, saying Stevens was “right” to call out el Sayed in a social media post on Friday evening. “Representative Haley Stevens is a courageous leader who deserves the respect of every Michigan voter,” he said.”
- SupportedTrump said at a Friday night rally in Daytona, Florida, that Black and Jewish voters who vote for El-Sayed are “not smart.”Politics: ““If youre Black, or if youre Jewish, and you vote for Abdul, you’re not smart,” President Donald Trump said at a Friday night rally in Daytona, Florida.”
- SupportedPolling averages showed El-Sayed ahead of Rogers by one point.Washington Examiner: “Current polling averages show el Sayed inching ahead of Rogers by only 1 point, according to RealClearPolitics .”