Stevens Declines to Fully Back El-Sayed Days Before Michigan Senate Election

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., declined several times on Sunday to say she is "fully behind" Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee who narrowly beat her in a bitter primary earlier this year. The exchange came during a national television interview just days before the midterm elections.

CNN's Dana Bash opened by asking why Stevens has not campaigned alongside El-Sayed, even though she endorsed him after the primary. Stevens answered by pointing to her work on behalf of Democratic House candidates around Michigan.

Later, Bash asked directly whether Stevens was "still fully behind" El-Sayed. Stevens again did not answer yes. "Look, I'm on the Democratic ticket," she said. "I can't say that I agree with everything that's gone on."

Stevens went on to praise Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson and the party's House candidates, but did not mention El-Sayed. Bash noted the omission. "Well, look, I would just say you asked me if I'm still on the team," Stevens replied. "I'm on the team."

The interview highlights lingering strains within Michigan's Democratic coalition after a contentious primary that exposed divisions over Israel, Iran and the future direction of the party. Stevens' backers included groups that El-Sayed has been trying to bring into his camp, particularly Black and Jewish voters, as he prepares to face Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.

Stevens also suggested that El-Sayed still has work to do with some of her former supporters. Asked whether he had done enough to reach Black and Jewish voters in Michigan, she cited outreach she had urged him to undertake in the Black community.

"I had said to, you know, the coordinated campaign, I'm like, hey, give a speech in the Black community, right?" Stevens said. "But yeah, I mean, that didn't happen. That speech hasn't happened."

El-Sayed is running against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in a closely watched contest to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The Michigan seat is central to the fight for control of the Senate.

The race has become a test for the Democratic Party's progressive wing. El-Sayed is campaigning on policies including Medicare-for-all and an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, while Rogers has tried to cast him as outside Michigan's political mainstream.