Michigan Senate Rivals Stay Apart

Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens have not spoken in months.

With less than one week left in a tight Senate race, the former primary rivals show no sign of reuniting before Tuesday. Stevens lost the August primary by a narrow margin after polls showed El-Sayed far ahead. They appeared together at unity events immediately after the vote, including a shared breakfast, but contact quickly faded.

Four people familiar with the matter say the two have not been directly in touch recently. Stevens has traveled to Israel and India with a congressional delegation. She is currently focused on her House district and other races. While El-Sayed’s campaign hired some of her former staff, the candidates themselves remain distant.

Stevens joined Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson for a bus tour over the weekend. She is not scheduled to appear with El-Sayed before Election Day. This includes the day before the election, when El-Sayed is expected to hold an event in Oakland County, Stevens’ home base. She has not attended any of El-Sayed’s previous eight events in the state.

Tensions persist from the primary, where both candidates exchanged personal attacks. El-Sayed claimed Stevens was controlled by pro-Israel interests and called her the least capable candidate in America. Stevens countered that El-Sayed wanted to blame his problems on Jewish Americans. Rogers, the Republican nominee, is directly appealing to Stevens’ supporters, specifically Black and Jewish voters.

Stendorship remains complicated by the campaign ads. On Wednesday, Stevens told CNN she will vote for El-Sayed. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, said he will vote for Rogers because he believes El-Sayed does not take Jewish safety concerns seriously. Stevens called the household divided but said she wants the Democratic nominee to win. She urged the campaign to distance itself from an outside ad linking high prices in Michigan to foreign aid for Israel.

El-Sayed’s team said the two campaign staffs remain in close communication. Stevens said she is the “weirdest loser in this country” but feels it is months past the primary. She wants the campaign to shut out the hate and make her coalition feel comfortable voting.

David Kramer, a top Michigan Democratic fundraiser who chaired Stevens’ primary campaign, announced on Tuesday that he will vote for Rogers. Kramer said in a statement that he believes Rogers is committed to keeping Jews safe in Michigan. He expressed concern about a Republican senator’s allegiance to President Donald Trump but prioritized the safety issue. Two other prominent Oakland County Democrats said they reached out to El-Sayed to offer help but received no response.

Oakland County is home to 1.3 million voters. In 2024, Democrats won the county by 10.5 percentage points, a smaller margin than in 2020. Stevens beat El-Sayed in the county by seven points in the primary. Dave Coulter, the Oakland County executive, said he does not think El-Sayed can win without Oakland County. He added that the question is by how much El-Sayed will win there.

Democratic operatives are concerned the race is still in play. They believe the seat should be reliably blue. The state Democratic Party is promoting El-Sayed through its “One Michigan” effort. Mari Manoogian, a former state representative, said Democrats are coming home despite the handwringing. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow said she sees excitement from PTA meetings to watch parties. She said she has no concerns about how the campaign is running.