Democrats clash over Israel ad days before Michigan Senate race

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 00:16 · Archive

Abdul El-Sayed has asked fellow Democrat Haley Stevens to stay away from his Senate campaign events days before Tuesday's midterm election.

Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has asked fellow Democrat Haley Stevens to stay away from his campaign events days before Michigan votes in the Senate race on Tuesday. El-Sayed told reporters after a campaign rally that he did not want "any distractions" and that "other folks are more interested in making this race about things that it's not about."

The two had been planning to appear together on Sunday at a church service in Detroit. Stevens, a congresswoman, endorsed El-Sayed shortly after he defeated her in the Democratic primary in August. However, she had avoided appearing publicly with him until this weekend, having criticised him publicly for weeks.

The feud became public when Stevens demanded that El-Sayed apologise for an advertisement by an outside group that blamed high food prices on US military support for Israel. Stevens described the advertisement as antisemitic. El-Sayed defeated Stevens in the primary by just 1 per cent of the vote.

In his response, El-Sayed said that Stevens "seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago" and called for focus on the main task: defeating Republican Mike Rogers, holding "Trump accountable", and passing "Medicare for All". He also noted that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee had spent heavily to defeat him in the primary.

El-Sayed's campaign asked Stevens to stay away from future events, according to reporting. Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, has campaigned on behalf of Rogers, the Republican candidate. El-Sayed maintains a narrow lead over Rogers in public polls heading into Tuesday's election.

How it is being reported

• Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign disinvites Haley Stevens from events to limit ‘distractions’A public spat has cast Democratic tensions in the spotlight as the close US Senate race draws to a head Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s tightly fought US Senate race, has asked Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens to stay away from his campaign events. “I don’t want any distractions,” El-Sayed told reporters after a campaign rally, according to the New York Times . “It seems as though other folks are more interested in making this race about things that it’s not about.” Continue reading...Guardian World · 31 Oct, 23:58
• Michigan feud threatens Democratic unity in key Senate raceAbdul El-Sayed disinvites former primary rival Haley Stevens from campaign event amid war of words over IsraelFinancial Times · 31 Oct, 23:57
• Abdul El-Sayed tells Rep. Haley Stevens to stay away from his campaign — as feud boils over days before midtermDemocrat Abdul El-Sayed told Rep. Haley Stevens to stay away from his campaign after she demanded an apology over his comments on Israel.New York Post · 31 Oct, 13:10
• Democrat civil war breaks out in Michigan just days away from midterm elections with vicious sniping over controversial 'anti-Israel' TV ad... as 'blue tsunami' risks turning into a rippleAbdul El-Sayed and former Democrat primary opponent Haley Stevens reignited their intra-party feud just four days before a key Senate election in swing state Michigan.Daily Mail · 31 Oct, 05:19

In this story: Abdul El-Sayed · Haley Stevens · Mike Rogers · Michigan · American Israel Public Affairs Committee

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log