Haley Stevens’ Fiancé Is Voting Republican as She Tells Her Own Party’s Senate Nominee to Apologize

Haley Stevens is demanding that Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s Senate race, apologize for comments he made about Israel, just days after her fiancé announced he is voting for El-Sayed’s Republican opponent.

Stevens, a Democratic congresswoman, narrowly lost the August primary to El-Sayed. She endorsed him after he won the nomination, but the two have mostly stayed apart on the campaign trail. Now, with the election on Tuesday, November 3, the rift between them is out in the open.

In a statement posted Friday, Stevens called on El-Sayed to apologize for suggesting during the campaign that “Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care, and child care.” El-Sayed is a vocal critic of U.S. military aid to Israel.

“Abdul promises to get money out of politics,” Stevens said. “He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”

She also told him to condemn a video ad she called antisemitic. The ad shows a couple in a grocery store putting back a carton of eggs and complaining that their money goes toward the billions in military support the U.S. sends Israel. It was made by Rebellion PAC. A PAC, or political action committee, is an outside group that raises and spends money on elections separately from the candidates. El-Sayed’s campaign said it is not connected to the ad “in any way.”

Stevens said Democratic Party leaders told her El-Sayed would formally condemn the ad. “A disclaimer is not a condemnation, and everyone in my community knows the difference,” she wrote. She also asked El-Sayed to take down one of his own ads, which uses a quote from right wing commentator Tucker Carlson criticizing Republican nominee Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed fired back hours later, saying Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” He also pointed to the money behind her primary campaign, saying his campaign beat about $70 million in outside spending from big corporations and AIPAC on Stevens’ behalf. AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is a pro-Israel lobbying group.

The fight comes after Stevens’ fiancé, attorney Jason Turkish, told The Detroit News this week that he plans to vote for Rogers. Turkish cited El-Sayed’s rhetoric on Israel and said El-Sayed has not spoken out strongly enough against antisemitism. Stevens told CNN she is still voting for El-Sayed, calling them “a household divided,” and urged his campaign to “call out” hate.

Stevens is scheduled to appear with El-Sayed on Sunday at a Detroit church alongside South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, their first public appearance together in months. Stevens said she accepted the invitation from Clyburn, not from El-Sayed’s campaign, and El-Sayed’s announcement of the event did not mention her. It is unclear whether Friday’s exchange will change those plans.

The timing has some Democrats worried. Former Obama adviser David Axelrod suggested Stevens could be paving the way to endorse Rogers. Stevens has not said anything to that effect and maintains she is backing El-Sayed.

Michigan’s Senate race is one of the closest in the country, and the result could help decide which party controls the Senate. Rogers, a former Republican congressman, has been working to win over moderate Democrats, the same voters who backed Stevens in the primary.

Dee Dee Henderson

Dee Dee Henderson is a Poli Alert journalist covering national politics, elections and the policies that hit closest to home for Black communities, from voting rights and the economy to the courts. She reports the facts first and isn't afraid to say what they mean, and her commentary pieces are clearly labeled as opinion. Her midterm coverage breaks down deadlines, ballot measures and the races that will decide who holds power in Washington.

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