El-Sayed campaign bars Haley Stevens from rally amid Israel row
Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign has asked Michigan Representative Haley Stevens to stay away from a planned church rally and other campaign events, deepening a rift between the Democratic Senate nominee and his former primary rival. The dispute matters because it has disrupted a public show of party unity just days before the midterm election.
The row centres on a one-minute advert by Rebellion PAC that links US support for Israel to rising grocery costs, including a reference to money being spent “killing Palestinians”. El-Sayed said he disagreed with the advert and that his campaign did not make or endorse it; Stevens called its claims about Israel and Jews vile and urged him to condemn it. Stevens’s fiancé said he would vote for Republican Mike Rogers, while an adviser to Congressman Jim Clyburn said Stevens’s invitation to Sunday’s Detroit event still stood.
In short
- El-Sayed’s campaign asked Stevens to avoid upcoming events.
- A disputed advert linking Israel and grocery prices fuelled the split.
- Stevens’s invitation to the Detroit rally reportedly remains open.
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The case for
El-Sayed’s campaign can argue that an advert it neither made nor endorsed has become a distraction, and that asking Stevens to step back may prevent the rally from turning into a dispute over language he says he rejects. Supporters may also see the request as a way to protect the campaign’s message and maintain focus on voters’ concerns in the final days.
The case against
Stevens and her supporters can argue that the advert’s language about Israel and Palestinians risks inflaming prejudice and should be clearly challenged, especially by a nominee seeking party-wide support. Excluding a prominent fellow Democrat from campaign events may deepen divisions and weaken the public show of unity needed to mobilise voters.
Explained simply
Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens are Democrats from Michigan who recently competed for their party’s nomination for the US Senate. El-Sayed won the nomination, while Stevens, a member of the US House of Representatives, had been expected to support the party’s candidate in the general election.
The disagreement centres on a political advert produced by Rebellion PAC, an outside group rather than El-Sayed’s campaign. It connects US support for Israel with the cost of groceries and refers to Palestinians being killed; the advert has prompted a dispute over how the issue is being discussed and who is responsible for the message.
The rift matters because party candidates often seek to present a united front before an election. Their disagreement has complicated plans for shared campaign appearances in Michigan, where Democrats are seeking support against Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Democrat civil war takes nasty turn as Abdul El-Sayed tells Haley Stevens to stay away after they planned to rally together due to bitter feud over Israel”.