Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican instead of Abdul El-Sayed

A dispute over Israel has exposed a breakdown between progressive and moderate Democrats in a closely watched Michigan Senate race, after Haley Stevens backed a Republican rather than Abdul El-Sayed.

2 Nov 2026

Unity between Democratic progressives and moderates in a key Michigan Senate race has collapsed into a public dispute over Israel. Democrat Haley Stevens endorsed a Republican candidate instead of Abdul El-Sayed, highlighting divisions within the party.

The endorsement has intensified tensions between the party’s moderate and progressive factions. Their disagreement has developed into a war of words over Israel, weakening the cooperation that had previously linked the two groups in the Senate contest.

Stevens’s decision to support the Republican rather than El-Sayed marks a significant break in the race and places the dispute over Israel at the center of the campaign’s internal Democratic conflict.

Sources: Financial Times.