Rep. Haley Stevens’s (D-MI) decision to pull support from Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed after he declined to condemn an advertisement blaming U.S. support for Israel for rising grocery prices has thrust Jewish voters into the spotlight heading into Election Day.
It’s unclear whether Stevens’s decision to endorse Rogers with only two days left before the election will affect the outcome of the race. Joel Rubin, the former deputy assistant secretary of state who was the Jewish director for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, told the Washington Examiner he believes it will have an impact on Democratic Jewish voters.
“I do think there’s a lot of Jewish voters who have been trying to figure out what to do on Election Day, and by her choosing to speak in this direction, I think it does give some space for those who are opposed to Sayed to feel like they can vote, you know, against him or for Rogers,” Rubin said.
Stevens’s endorsement of Rogers came after a back-and-forth between her and her former Democratic opponent over an advertisement created by a super PAC supporting el Sayed that blamed U.S. support for Israel for high grocery prices. El Sayed has called the controversy over the ad a distraction and said he does not agree with the contents of the ad.
The Democratic National Committee’s Jewish American Council Leadership criticized Steven’s decision in a public statement Sunday, saying, “We all may not agree with El-Sayed on every issue, including Israel and how best to protect Jewish Americans here at home, but those disagreements deserve to have serious discussion, not political exploitation.”
The statement continued, “Jewish Michiganders have been following the Senate race closely for months, and we trust them to make the right decision for themselves, their state, and our country by voting for Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate.”
An Associated Press poll published in July found the majority of Jewish adults do not feel represented by political leaders in either major political party, and that prejudice against Jewish people is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States.
Even still, it appears el Sayed does maintain some support among Jewish voters in Michigan, with an open letter supporting the Democratic nominee released back in September reaching over 1,000 signatures.
The rift between el Sayed and Stevens is perhaps the most public break seen in the Democratic Party seen since the 2024 elections, when debate first sparked on a national scale over U.S. support of Israel, a top ally in the Middle East.
Rubin told the Washington Examiner he believes the rift to be the “most explosive demonstration of the fight inside the party right now over the future direction of Israel policy and anti-Semitism and how Jewish Democratic voters view the party” heading into the 2028 elections.
“This is one battle in what’s going to be an ongoing fight, ongoing debate,” Rubin said.
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Stevens dodged when asked Monday by Scott Jennings if it was possible for a Democrat to be in “good standing” and also believe in an open alliance with Israel, especially ahead of the 2028 presidential primary.
“We still got to get through this election, don’t you know?” Stevens said. “But look, I’m more pro-choice union than anyone, right? I mean, I love these values, and I believe in them. I’ve worked really hard for them, and it is very simple. I do not feel that Dr. El Sayed is fit to be a U.S. senator, and it just crystallized for me very personally. And I made it known.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
