El-Sayed Melts Down and Scolds Press After Stevens Backs Rogers: Keep Questions on Gas and Groceries, Not the Democrat Who Just Dumped Me
Abdul El-Sayed looked visibly rattled Sunday as he stepped out to face reporters in Detroit, just hours after his own primary rival, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, appeared with Republican Mike Rogers at Perfecting Church and publicly endorsed the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate. With the election two days away and control of the chamber potentially on the line, El-Sayed tried to shut down any talk of the stunning crossover.
“I have a sense that you all are here today because of the decisions of somebody who’s not here right now. Am I right about that?” he asked the assembled press. Laughter followed. He pressed on anyway.
“But I’m just going to tell you, this is a state of 10 million people who deserve a lot better from their government. I’m a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about, okay? They pay too much in gas. They pay too much in groceries. They’re worried about the quality of their kids’ schools. They’re worried about the quality of the air and the water that they drink. That’s what we should be focused on. So I’m going to ask, when we take questions, that you keep your questions focused on the issues that Michiganders really care about. Now, that might not drive clicks for you. I get it. I understand your business, right? But they’re the issues that Michiganders are paying attention to.”
The message was clear: ignore the Democrat who just walked into a predominantly Black church with Rogers, announced she was voting for him, and said she does not belong in El-Sayed’s campaign. Stevens cited El-Sayed making clear she was unwelcome after she pressed him on an outside ad linking Israel aid to grocery prices and on his ties to streamer Hasan Piker. Her staff began resigning. Rogers called the support an honor.
El-Sayed, who narrowly beat Stevens in the August primary with progressive backing, instead pivoted to everyday prices while surrounded by Black leaders. The optics underscored the scramble: Rogers has been working Black communities hard, and a sitting Democratic congresswoman just handed him a high-profile boost in Detroit two days out. El-Sayed wants the conversation limited to gas, groceries, schools, and water. Voters in a swing state may notice that the Democratic nominee is demanding the press drop the story of his own party’s fracture right before they head to the polls.