Overview
- The televised debate on Thursday, May 28 brought Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El‑Sayed together and made clear the contest is a test of the party’s direction in a must‑hold Michigan Senate seat.
- McMorrow said the Democratic Party has an antisemitism problem and recounted an incident in which an attendee at a recent party gathering yelled an antisemitic slur at her Jewish husband.
- El‑Sayed linked antisemitism and Islamophobia to what he called white supremacy and sharply criticized U.S. aid to Israel, calling past U.S. policy morally wrong and arguing taxpayer money should not fund Israeli actions he described as apartheid and genocide.
- Stevens emphasized her pro‑Israel record, largely declined to debate AIPAC’s role directly and is backed by establishment donors and outside advertising buys that have begun to firm up on her behalf.
- The primary winner will face Republican Mike Rogers in November in a race that already shows large outside ad reservations, a crowded national spotlight and at least one limited‑scope poll placing El‑Sayed ahead of his rivals.