Democrats’ push in a crucial Senate contest is being disrupted by a public feud that threatens their message of unity.
A planned appearance meant to bring former rivals together now looks likely to proceed without one of its central participants.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign asked Rep. Haley Stevens, whom he defeated in the primary over the summer, to skip remaining campaign events, a source told CNN.
The request would keep his former primary opponent away during the final days of his race against Republican Mike Rogers.
It also jeopardizes a Sunday appearance at a Detroit church intended to showcase cooperation after the Democrats’ August nomination fight.
Stevens and El-Sayed were scheduled to appear alongside South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, a nationally influential black Democratic leader.
The event now is likely to exclude Stevens, turning a planned demonstration into another illustration of lingering party divisions.
It would have marked her first appearance alongside El-Sayed since their primary, which he won by under one percentage point.
Politico first reported that El-Sayed’s campaign had asked Stevens to stay away, according to the supplied account of the dispute.
Stevens did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether she would attend the gathering or other events.
The rupture followed a Friday exchange over an outside group’s advertisement connecting American support for Israel with economic struggles.
Stevens issued a statement seeking to pressure El-Sayed into condemning the controversial advertisement, bringing their disagreement back into public view.
The advertisement blames American foreign aid for Israel for difficulties Americans face with high costs, according to the report.
El-Sayed responded Friday night by accusing Stevens of reviving their nomination battle rather than helping concentrate on the general election.
He said Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.”
That response showed how quickly the planned unity message had unraveled, with the nominee publicly questioning his former opponent’s motives.
The dispute arrives as Democrats face questions about Jewish voters in Michigan and their willingness to support El-Sayed’s Senate candidacy.
El-Sayed has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and American financial backing for the Israeli military.
Those positions were central to the primary, when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent heavily trying to defeat him.
The organization spent tens of millions of dollars opposing El-Sayed during the contest, according to the supplied report.
He nevertheless narrowly defeated Stevens, leaving a nominee whose position on Israel remains a source of tension within the party.
Now the same disagreement has resurfaced just before voters decide a Senate race with consequences for control of the chamber.
Rogers, a Republican former congressman, is seeking to capture the seat while Democrats try to retain it in Tuesday’s election.
For Republicans, the spectacle offers a contrast: Democrats are arguing over campaign appearances and past grievances during their closing campaign.
The request to exclude Stevens makes the dispute especially striking because her presence had been intended to demonstrate reconciliation.
Instead, voters are watching competing Democrats trade accusations of undermining the effort to defeat Rogers and preserve their Senate seat.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, another former contender for the nomination, sharply criticized Stevens during an appearance on CNN Friday night.
McMorrow withdrew from the Senate primary four weeks before the election and has now sided against Stevens in the argument.
She characterized the congresswoman’s conduct as disruptive when Democrats should be concentrating on the stakes of the approaching general election.
McMorrow expressed bewilderment at Stevens’s actions and urged Democrats to recognize what was at risk in their contest against Rogers.
“This is a moment where we have to recognize the stakes,” McMorrow said in her interview.
Her intervention widened the confrontation beyond El-Sayed and Stevens, drawing another prominent Michigan Democrat into the argument over party discipline, CNN reported.
The result is a closing stretch dominated by disagreements among Democrats over Israel, loyalty, and how to move beyond August.
