Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) reaffirmed her support for Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Wednesday, even as her fiancé, Jason Turkish, announced he would vote for Republican Mike Rogers in the closely watched Michigan contest.
“Like a lot of households in America, we’re a household divided,” Stevens told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “I still very much want our Democratic nominee, his name is Abdul, to win this race.”
Stevens, who lost the August Democratic primary to El-Sayed, has publicly backed him since then. But this week her former campaign chair, David Kramer, and her fiancé, Turkish, said they would not support El-Sayed over comments they deemed antisemitic. Both said they would cast their ballots for Rogers.
In an interview with The Detroit News, Turkish, a Jewish Democratic donor, said he had observed an “escalation” in El-Sayed’s rhetoric since the primary. “We have never seen a candidate for U.S. Senate act so recklessly toward the safety of Jews in the community as we have seen from Abdul,” he said.
Turkish also said he planned to attend a Republican Jewish Coalition event Wednesday evening in Birmingham, Mich., titled “Who Will Keep Us Safe? Rogers vs. El-Sayed,” which featured Rogers and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R).
El-Sayed has faced criticism over a campaign ad that appeared to blame Israel and Jews for rising living costs. The candidate said the ad was not affiliated with his campaign. Rogers, however, accused El-Sayed of using language that “invites anti-Semitism — and violence against Jews” in a post on X. Michigan Jewish leaders also urged El-Sayed to remove a separate ad featuring conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric.
The progressive candidate has also drawn pushback for his repeated criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Stevens acknowledged on CNN that she has heard concerns from voters about El-Sayed’s rhetoric. “There are a lot of voters in Michigan … and they are still undecided and they are hurt and they are confused,” she said. “And this is why I think our nominee is in a very strong position to denounce the hateful ads that have hurt people.”
Stevens, who has not publicly campaigned with El-Sayed in months, urged him to “shut out the hate.” She added, “Let’s get these undecided voters over the finish line. Let’s make sure that Michigan has the representation it needs in the United States Senate.”
The dispute over El-Sayed’s rhetoric has become a flashpoint in the race, with Rogers trying to distance himself from the MAGA label even as he courts Jewish voters. Meanwhile, the candidates clashed in their final debate over Israel and other issues, and early voting numbers in Michigan could signal which way the race is leaning.
