Abdul El-Sayed disinvites Haley Stevens as Michigan Senate feud escalates

Michigan Democrats were preparing a public show of unity between Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and his former primary rival, Representative Haley Stevens. Instead, their dispute over Israel has become a closing-days campaign fight.

El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, according to Yahoo News. The planned joint appearance in Detroit would have been the former rivals' first public appearance together in months, Associated Press reported.

The division also reached Stevens's household. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, announced he would vote for Rogers rather than El-Sayed, according to The Hill and New York Post.

On October 28, The Hill reported that Stevens's fiancé would support Rogers over El-Sayed. Turkish criticized El-Sayed's rhetoric about Israel and Jewish safety, according to New York Post.

By October 29, Stevens had publicly separated her position from her fiancé's. She said she was still supporting El-Sayed and described them as "a household divided," The Hill reported.

Also on October 29, Associated Press reported that Stevens and El-Sayed would campaign together Sunday in Detroit. The appearance offered Democrats a chance to put the primary rivalry behind them before the election.

But the conditions for that appearance soon became a public dispute. On October 30, NYT Politics reported that Stevens wanted El-Sayed to apologize for comments about Israel and disavow an ad she viewed as antisemitic.

The exchanges sharpened on October 31. CBS Top Stories reported that Stevens demanded condemnation of an outside group's ad, while El-Sayed accused her of being "intent on relitigating" their primary. The New York Times reported that the two had traded sharply critical comments Friday.

By October 31, the joint appearance had unraveled. The Hill, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that El-Sayed had disinvited Stevens from Sunday's event and told her to stay away from his campaign events.

The latest reporting describes a withdrawn invitation, not an approaching reconciliation. El-Sayed's campaign asked Stevens to stay away to limit distractions, according to the Guardian. "I don't want any distractions," El-Sayed said.

The disagreement concerns both El-Sayed's own comments and an outside group's advertising. Stevens's demand that he condemn that ad does not establish that his campaign produced it. NBC News reported that the tensions had drawn in other Michigan Democrats as the party sought to secure the Senate seat.

Sunday's Detroit campaigning is the immediate test of whether Democrats can contain the rupture without the planned joint appearance. The latest reporting from The Hill says Stevens has been disinvited.

Whether Stevens maintains her backing is also unresolved in the latest coverage. Her last explicit statement of support in the supplied reports came from The Hill on October 29, before the public exchanges escalated.