Democratic politicians have condemned congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, over her endorsement of his Republican rival just days before the midterm vote. Stevens’ extraordinary endorsement of Mike Rogers was the culmination of an escalating feud between the former primary rivals – primarily over support for Israel – that has roiled one of the most fiercely contested Senate contests of the cycle. As one might expect, top Democrats have been quick to express their outrage at the congresswoman’s “betrayal”.
California governor Gavin Newsom said on the political talkshow 2WAY that Stevens “went another 180 degrees overnight, so something was going on there”. This may be curiously the October surprise of sorts,” he added. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer also responded negatively to the endorsement.
Schumer’s campaign account called it a “despicable betrayal” from Stevens in a statement, but continued to push for unity among Democrats. He said: Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors. We Democrats equally united in our total revulsion at the racist, Islamophobic, and over-the-top false attacks on Abdul by Republicans.
These attacks are evidence of the total bankruptcy of the Republican Party today, who resort to ugly and un-American fearmongering because they have nothing to offer on the problems that concern people today. Meanwhile, Michigan’s Democratic party chair Curtis Hertel said: Haley Stevens’ decision to campaign with Rogers – a man who has repeatedly sold out Michigan’s working class, wants to pass a national abortion ban, and has pledged to be a loyal vote for Trump’s agenda – shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about. We reject the attempts by Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide our party and undermine our momentum, and will not allow these eleventh-hour distractions deter us.
Bernie Sanders joined the controversy, attacking Stevens for what Democrats view as an extraordinary betrayal after Stevens accepted El-Sayed’s narrow victory over her in Michigan’s Democrat senate primaries. Haley Stevens’ staff is right to resign in disgust,” Sanders posted on X. Donald Trump railed against Democratic US senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign event in Iowa Sunday, repeatedly referring to the Michigan progressive as a “jihadist”.
The president bashed El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim, in brazenly racist terms, saying that Congress would have to “get a special metal detector for Abdul” if he were elected. A judge has dismissed the Donald Trump-backed lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s US Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. Trump said on 23 October that he had ordered the justice department to file the lawsuit in a move that voting rights experts called an “unprecedented intervention” by the federal government with control of Congress in the balance.
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