Abdul El-Sayed drops Haley Stevens from campaign event as former primary rival steps out with Mike Rogers

Detroit, Michigan - Michigan's Senate race took a dramatic turn in its final days after Democratic candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed dropped his former primary rival Haley Stevens from a campaign event set for Sunday.

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (l.) has dropped former primary rival Haley Stevens from future campaign events as tensions flared between the two just days before the Senate election.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (l.) has dropped former primary rival Haley Stevens from future campaign events as tensions flared between the two just days before the Senate election.  © Collage: Salwan Georges & Finn Gomez / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Tensions first arose when Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, declared he'd be voting for Republican Mike Rogers, citing El-Sayed's criticisms of Israel and claiming the candidate was antisemitic.

Though Stevens said she disagreed with Turkish's decision, she later demanded El-Sayed apologize for an ad from an outside PAC that blamed US support of Israel's military offensives in Gaza and Iran for rising costs in America.

El-Sayed emphasized that he wasn't responsible for the ad and did not "agree" with its content, but went on to accuse Stevens of "relitigating a primary that ended three months ago."

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The back-and-forth ultimately led to the public health official dropping Stevens from a scheduled campaign event on Sunday and disinviting her from future appearances, according to The Hill.

The drama has since taken yet another turn, as MS NOW has reported that Stevens attended a Sunday morning church service alongside Mike Rogers.

While Stevens has not followed her fiancé in publicly backing Rogers, she notably excluded El-Sayed's name in her latest pleas to Michigan voters.

"I was glad to see our senate nominee say he does not agree with the content of the vile Rebellion PAC ad which claimed Israel and Jews were to blame for the high costs of groceries," she wrote.

"Whenever anyone tries to set us against each other, we have an obligation to stand up and fight back. This is what our constituents deserve from those of us in elected leadership. Go vote!"

Cover photo: Collage: Salwan Georges & Finn Gomez / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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