El Sayed’s left-wing allies attack ‘evil’ Stevens after bombshell Rogers endorsement
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s left-wing allies criticised Representative Haley Stevens after she endorsed Republican rival Mike Rogers. The endorsement followed a dispute over Stevens’s exclusion from an El-Sayed campaign event and his response to an advert she called antisemitic, deepening divisions among Democrats in a closely watched Senate race.
Stevens narrowly lost to El-Sayed in the Democratic primary and had urged him to condemn antisemitic remarks by some supporters. His campaign said it was not involved in the Rebellion PAC advert linking grocery prices to US military support for Israel; El-Sayed said he disagreed with its contents. Commentator Hasan Piker, journalist Mehdi Hasan, former DNC vice-chair David Hogg and former Obama aides Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor attacked Stevens’s decision, while Stevens has said she remains a Democrat.
In short
- Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over Abdul El-Sayed.
- The decision followed a dispute over an advert and antisemitism.
- Left-wing figures criticised Stevens and called for support for El-Sayed.
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The case for
Stevens’s supporters can argue that an endorsement is a legitimate response to a campaign’s handling of antisemitic rhetoric and to being excluded from its event, and that condemning such conduct should take priority over party loyalty. They may see her choice as a matter of principle and accountability, even if it helps a Republican in a close race.
The case against
El-Sayed’s supporters can argue that Stevens’s endorsement risks helping Republicans win a Senate seat and weakening the party’s ability to advance policies they support. They may also say El-Sayed disavowed the advert’s contents and was not responsible for it, so backing his rival is a disproportionate response that deepens divisions after a closely contested primary.
Explained simply
Michigan’s Senate seat is being contested in a race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed won the Democratic primary by a narrow margin over Representative Haley Stevens, who represents Michigan in Congress.
The dispute centres on disagreements over antisemitism and support for Israel. Stevens had asked El-Sayed to condemn remarks by some of his supporters, and criticised an advert by an outside political group; his campaign said it did not make the advert, and he said he disagreed with it.
The row has exposed divisions among Democrats over how to address these issues and how to campaign in the Senate race. Stevens remains a Democrat, while several prominent figures on the party’s left have criticised her actions.