Haley Stevens Faces Backlash From Fellow Democrats for Not Explicitly Backing El-Sayed in Michigan

Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan to Abdul El-Sayed, has come under sharp criticism from progressives in her own party for failing to explicitly endorse him during a weekend television appearance.

Stevens, a Democratic representative from Michigan, told CNN's State of the Union that she broadly supports her state party's ticket for the coming midterm elections. She did not, however, endorse El-Sayed by name directly.

Stevens said she is on the Democratic ticket and cannot say she agrees with everything that has gone on. She said she is looking to be on the team to support her next governor, Jocelyn Benson, and the Democrats who are working to make Hakeem Jeffries the first Black Speaker of the House.

When pressed about El-Sayed specifically, Stevens said that if she had been asked whether she is still on the team, she is on the team. She gave no more direct endorsement than that.

That was not enough for progressives, who promptly accused Stevens of undermining her fellow Democrat.

Mehdi Hasan wrote on X that people still pretending El-Sayed's race is the same as other Democratic Senate races should be asked whether those candidates have former Democratic rivals refusing to fully endorse them on national television. He called the stance hypocritical and said the hypocrisy may hurt Democrats in 2028, referring to Senate races in North Carolina and Alaska.

Leah Greenberg, who leads the progressive activist group Indivisible, wrote that it is late October and people are voting every day, and that if someone cannot give a full-throated endorsement to the Democratic nominee who could be the key vote in flipping the Senate, they should stay off television.

Former congressional candidate Kyle Blomquist accused Stevens of practically fawning over Mike Rogers. Progressive commentator Emma Vigeland wrote on X that Stevens is sabotaging El-Sayed on national television, one week before the midterm.

More moderate and establishment-friendly Democrats pushed back on some of the criticism. Strategist Lis Smith responded to Hasan that people clamouring to support candidates such as those in other races is actually a validation of their candidate quality, and that it should be a factor when assessing candidate quality.

El-Sayed edged Stevens out by just 1 percent in the Michigan primary earlier this year. El-Sayed won 48.5 percent of the vote compared to Stevens' 47.5 percent, with Mallory McMorrow netting 4 percent; McMorrow had dropped out of the race.

Stevens was the establishment-backed pick with support from top Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. El-Sayed is backed by Squad Democrats such as Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Stevens was contacted for comment on the online backlash but did not immediately respond.

In Michigan, duelling rallies held by President Donald Trump and Barack Obama have also drawn discussion. A panel of voters discussed recent polling data showing how Black Michigan voters view candidate Abdul El-Sayed compared to Mike Rogers, highlighting divisions and shifting political alignments within key voter demographics ahead of the midterm elections.