Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens had herself quite a Sunday morning. Instead of standing next to Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed at church, she showed up at a Detroit church alongside Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Yes, a Democrat campaigning with the Republican. You truly cannot make this stuff up.
El-Sayed disinvited Stevens from his campaign event after she publicly criticized him for refusing to condemn an ad that blamed Israel for high U.S. grocery prices and even featured Tucker Carlson. Nothing says “serious Senate candidate” like running ads with Tucker Carlson to blame Israel for the price of eggs.
Stevens had actually agreed to appear with El-Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) at a church event, accepting what she called Clyburn’s invitation despite the tension between the two. She released a statement making clear she still had serious problems with El-Sayed, saying, “The ad did not invent its argument; it dramatized one Dr. El-Sayed has made in his own words throughout this campaign: that Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, healthcare, and child care.” She then demanded an apology. El-Sayed, rather than apologizing, fired back saying Stevens was just rehashing their August primary, which he narrowly won. So he disinvited her. Smooth move, doctor.
Stevens’ fiance, Jason Turkish, had already told TMZ he was pulling his support from El-Sayed and made clear Stevens would follow if El-Sayed refused to disavow those pro-El-Sayed ads. That’s when things went from awkward to absolutely chaotic. El-Sayed Stevens Michigan Senate race, and it ended with a Democratic congresswoman walking into a church with the Republican.
Abby Ronson posted on X, “HAPPENING NOW: Congresswoman Haley Stevens joins Mike Rogers at church in Detroit this morning. We have a state to save, Michigan.” Meanwhile, El-Sayed held his own competing church event with Clyburn, because nothing heals a fractured Democrat coalition like splitting into two different churches on the same morning.
El-Sayed is already struggling with black voters, which is exactly why the church tour was supposed to matter in the first place. Losing Stevens at that moment, in that setting, is not a great look. The outside progressive group that ran the grocery-price ad, not El-Sayed’s campaign directly, apparently thought tying Israel to the price of milk was a winning message in Michigan. Democrats called it bold strategy. The rest of the country calls it a disaster.
This is a developing story, so expect more chaos from the Michigan Democrat Party before the day is out. If El-Sayed keeps burning bridges this fast, Rogers might not even need to campaign, he can just wait for El-Sayed’s own allies to do the work for him.
