Former Obama adviser David Axelrod suggested that Democratic Representative Haley Stevens could be paving the way for an endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, as she and Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed clashed days before a planned joint campaign appearance in Michigan. Stevens had announced plans to appear alongside El-Sayed and South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn at a Detroit church Sunday, marking the first time in months the two Democrats were expected to appear together. However, it remains unclear whether the event will go ahead following their latest exchange.
In a statement Friday, Stevens called on El-Sayed to formally condemn a Rebellion PAC ad that linked U.S. support for Israel to rising grocery prices. She also called on him to apologize for his own comments linking Israel to the state's affordability challenges and urged him to take down his campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson. He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford,” Stevens said in a lengthy statement shared on X.
The Rebellion PAC ad suggested that U.S. support for Israel was contributing to rising costs for American families. Stevens characterized the ad as antisemitic and said El-Sayed needed to publicly reject it. Rogers praised Stevens late Friday, calling her a “courageous leader” who deserved “the respect of every Michigan voter.” “She was absolutely right to call on Abdul El-Sayed to denounce the Rebellion PAC ad and she was right to call on him to apologize for espousing the same hateful ideology behind it,” Rogers posted on X.
El-Sayed pushed back, accusing Stevens of seeming “intent on relitigating a primary" that ended three months ago. El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner previously told Newsweek that the ad was “not affiliated in any way” with the Abdul for Senate campaign. Newsweek reached out to El-Sayed and Stevens for comment late Friday night.
Axelrod pointed to Stevens' comments over the past few days, saying they seemed “aimed at trying to undermine” El-Sayed's campaign. He called the ad offensive, saying El-Sayed should have rejected it but did not need to respond to Stevens' latest comments. The former rivals have largely kept their distance since Stevens narrowly lost the August primary to El-Sayed.
But Stevens said Wednesday that she planned to vote for him, despite her fiancé's public endorsement of Rogers. Weeks of efforts to rally Democrats behind El-Sayed followed his narrow victory over Stevens, who drew significant support from Jewish and Black voters, fueling concerns over turnout among those blocs in the general election. Conservative commentator Scott Jennings said during an interview on CNN that he expected a record number of Michigan voters to back Republicans, arguing that El-Sayed's refusal to denounce the ad could hurt Democrats.
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