UPDATE: El-Sayed is now taking shots at Stevens:
Quite a statement from Abdul El-Sayed: "Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago." https://t.co/F11HckhYyL
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) October 30, 2026
Stevens had wanted him to condemn the @cenkuygur Rebellion PAC ad (a small buy but widely shared) in which a couple discussed how paying higher prices was worth it to "kill Palestinians." El-Sayed not doing that here.
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) October 30, 2026
Hahahahahaha they’re denouncing each other on their way to a joint campaign event
— Jarvis (@jarvis_best) October 30, 2026
To be clear, Haley Stevens is an idiot… But it is insane to me how many reporters have immediately fallen into Abdul’s trap of focusing on his attack on her… And not that fact that he gave a THREE paragraph statement that STILL DOES NOT condemn antisemitism.
— Joanna Rodriguez (@joannamrod) October 30, 2026
UPDATE II: There's been a total breakdown:
Scoop: El-Sayed’s campaign is asking Stevens to stay away from all future campaign events in the closing days of the race, two people familiar with the decision told POLITICO, W/ @lisakashinsky & @jsscppr https://t.co/sbezi5V2pu
— Adam Wren (@adamwren) October 31, 2026
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: HUGE problem looming for Abdul El-Sayed ... Rep. Haley Stevens is ready to pull her support for the Michigan senatorial candidate and no-show an important campaign rally if he doesn't disavow a couple of controversial political ads ... and the warning is coming straight from Haley's fiancé.
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 30, 2026
Though Stevens has never been on the trail with El-Sayed, this was supposed to be their first joint appearance.
***Original Post***
We know who brought Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens together for this anticipated Sunday press conference, where El-Sayed is set to denounce a virulent antisemitic ad made in support of his Michigan Senate candidate. Rebellion PAC is responsible for the TV spot in which a couple cannot afford groceries because Jewish people exist. Similar pieces of political literature were produced, though they were all written in German.
This is one of the most antisemitic things I've ever seen in a political ad, and it's for Abdul El-Sayed. The message: your life is hard, groceries are expensive, and the Jewish state is why. Total madness!
— Simone Rodan-Benzaquen (@srodan) October 25, 2026
There were reportedly discussions about getting Stevens, who lost the Democrat Senate primary, to campaign with El-Sayed. Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, is openly backing Republican Mike Rogers, highlighting El-Sayed’s abysmal standing with Jewish and black voters as we head into Election Day. Stevens also said on Tuesday that she would not be on the trail with El-Sayed. Regarding this awkward pow-wow on Sunday, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) brought both sides together. Stevens wanted El-Sayed to denounce the ad; however (via NYT):
Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan had said that she would campaign this weekend with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee and her former primary rival, apparently moving past a series of recent public criticisms she made of him.
Less than 24 hours later, she had another message. In a statement promoting her plan to join Dr. El-Sayed on the campaign trail, she said that she expected Dr. El-Sayed to apologize for comments he had made about Israel and that she anticipated that he would disavow what she described as an antisemitic ad from an outside group. She also called on him to take down an ad from his campaign featuring Tucker Carlson.
“Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” Ms. Stevens said in the statement. “He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”
The statement was the latest turn in an unusual and tense dance between Dr. El-Sayed and Ms. Stevens that has involved a widening circle of Democrats, including Representatives Debbie Dingell and James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, one of the highest-ranking African Americans in Congress.
The friction has added turbulence to the final week of a race that could determine control of the Senate, raising concerns in the party about divisions that could be costly as Election Day nears.
Dr. El-Sayed’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
[…]
By Thursday, a joint appearance with Dr. El-Sayed, Ms. Stevens and Mr. Clyburn had been scheduled for Sunday at a Black church in Detroit. Ms. Stevens described the gathering as a “souls to the polls” event.
“I’m the one that made this happen,” Ms. Dingell said, adding the problem had been that Dr. El-Sayed and Ms. Stevens “weren’t talking.” When pressed by Ms. Dingell, “They said, OK,” she recalled.
Yet even now, this appearance has elicited a strong response from some people:
Mallory McMorrow on CNN: “I have no idea what the hell Haley Stevens is doing.” #MichiganSenate https://t.co/UOKjSLl2t4
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) October 30, 2026
Haley Stevens is spending the final days before an immensely consequential election attacking her own party’s nominee over a digital ad from an independent PAC that I don’t believe ever ran in Michigan. When defeating MAGA should be the priority, this is absolutely insane behavior.
— Sarah Matthews (@SarahAMatthews1) October 30, 2026
Now, El-Sayed can do nothing regarding Jewish and black voter outreach. He had months to improve, but he chose to sit on his hands. So I doubt this will help him, which may be why a lot of El-Sayed backers are less than enthused here.
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