Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race

What happened

Days before Michigan's 2026 Senate election, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, whom he defeated in the August primary, traded statements over Israel. Stevens said she would join a planned Sunday appearance with El-Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn but expected El-Sayed to apologize for comments tying Israel to Michigan costs and to disavow a Rebellion PAC ad she called antisemitic. The ad, from a group linked to Cenk Uygur, blamed grocery prices on U.S. aid to Israel. El-Sayed said Stevens seemed "intent on relitigating" a primary that ended three months earlier and urged focus on beating Republican Mike Rogers. His campaign asked Stevens to stay away from remaining events to limit distractions, according to people familiar with the decision. A Saturday advisory for the Detroit event listed Clyburn but not Stevens. Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, had said he would vote for Rogers.^{⁠[11, 20, 23, 36]}

Background

El-Sayed, a progressive critic of U.S. policy toward Israel, won a close Democratic primary over Stevens, a more moderate supporter of Israel who received significant outside spending including from AIPAC. The general-election contest against former Rep. Mike Rogers is rated a toss-up, with polling averages showing El-Sayed ahead by about 1 point. A joint appearance would have been their first since a post-primary unity breakfast. Other Michigan Democrats, including state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, have commented on the tensions.^{⁠[20, 23, 36]}

How the coverage differs

Left-leaning outlets such as HuffPost, The Intercept, Mother Jones and The New Republic frame Stevens and other moderates as relitigating the primary or preferring to lose rather than back a critic of Israel, and they note Pelosi comments and the fiancé's remarks. Center outlets including Politico, NBC News, CBS News, The Hill and Mediaite report the back-and-forth, the request to stay away, Democratic worries about the seat, and Rogers seizing on the split, while attributing both sides' statements. Right-leaning outlets such as the Washington Examiner, National Review, New York Post, Washington Times and Washington Free Beacon emphasize the ad as antisemitic, Stevens' demand as a breaking point, Democratic self-inflicted wounds, and Rogers praising Stevens.^{⁠[2, 9, 14, 20, 23, 32, 36]}

What's still unclear

It is not settled whether Stevens will attend the Sunday church event, whether El-Sayed will issue any apology or further disavowal, or how the feud will affect turnout or the close race. Accounts differ on whether the Sunday gathering is El-Sayed's event to control. The precise wording and visuals of the Rebellion PAC ad, and whether El-Sayed's own past comments match it, remain described rather than fully reproduced in the coverage reviewed.^{⁠[20, 23, 27]}

Written by Grok from the full articles, at a reader's request. AI can get details wrong; check the sources.