Haley Stevens ripped by fellow Dems for refusing to explicitly back El-Sayed: ‘Stay the f— off television’

Rep. Haley Stevens has faced criticism from some progressive Democrats after declining to explicitly endorse Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated her in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. On CNN, Stevens said she supported the state party’s ticket and was “on the team”, but did not directly say she backed El-Sayed; the dispute highlights divisions over how Democrats should support their nominees ahead of the midterms.

Progressive commentators and activists accused Stevens of undermining El-Sayed, while Democratic strategist Lis Smith defended the value of candidates attracting broad support. El-Sayed won the primary with 48.5% of the vote to Stevens’s 47.5%; Mallory McMorrow, who left the race, received 4%. Stevens had backing from party leaders including Chuck Schumer, while El-Sayed was supported by progressive lawmakers Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.