The question looming over Michigan’s Senate race in its final days, as Rep. Haley Stevens endorses the Republican nominee, is whether the Democrats who supported her in the primary will follow her lead and abandon Abdul El-Sayed.
Stevens’ decision to endorse former Rep. Mike Rogers and appear with him at a church service in Detroit on Sunday is a jarring culmination to days of a public and private war of words between Stevens and El-Sayed, the two former primary rivals.
But it’s not clear whether a significant number of Democratic voters are willing to follow Stevens, particularly because Michigan’s race is critical to the broader battle for control of the Senate.
CNN’s latest poll of the race, released Thursday, found El-Sayed had opened up a 49% to 42% lead over Rogers — in part because he has consolidated his party’s voters, with 95% of Democratic likely voters saying they support El-Sayed.
El-Sayed on Sunday is across town at another Black church service with another former primary opponent, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, as well as South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn and Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.
Stevens had initially been expected to attend that service, before her public criticism of El-Sayed led his campaign to ask her to stay away from his events.
The hard-fought August primary between El-Sayed and Stevens was a window into the Democratic Party’s divides. Stevens was strongest with Black and Jewish voters, but El-Sayed eked out a narrow win thanks to big margins with young voters, progressives and college-educated voters.
The dynamics in many ways mirrored the 2016 Democratic presidential primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. That factional battle is certain to be on display as the party’s 2028 presidential race gets underway.
First, though, Democrats are aiming to set aside those squabbles in the party’s bid for the net four-seat gain it needs to win control of the Senate. Retaining the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan is critical to its path to that four-seat gain.
Rogers has sought to make that task difficult. He has spent the closing weeks of the race courting Black and Jewish voters — accusing El-Sayed of having family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and highlighting his criticism of Israel. El-Sayed is among a long list of progressives who have lambasted Israel’s actions in Gaza and called for the United States to end aid to the country.
Online, Democrats — including those who have previously criticized El-Sayed — largely appeared to be reacting with anger toward Stevens on Sunday.