Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens anti-Semitism row fractures Democratic party days before 2026 midterms

A spat between Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr Abdul El-Sayed and his primary opponent Haley Stevens risks fracturing the Democratic Party just two days before the US midterms.

Dr El-Sayed, who could become the first Muslim Senator if he prevails against Republican Mike Rogers on Tuesday, previously received support from Ms Stevens, who quickly endorsed him after the primary.

On Friday, she released a statement announcing that she would attend a church service in Detroit with Dr El-Sayed.

Ms Stevens, who currently serves in the US House, called on the Muslim public health administrator to condemn an ad - produced by Hasan Piker's uncle, Cenk Uygur - which said Michigan families "cannot afford groceries because their money has to be set aside 'for killing Palestinians'".

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called the ad a "case study in antisemitism", Ms Stevens added.

"I say this with no race to run and nothing to gain," she said. "The Jewish and African American communities of my district deserve to see their leaders show up for them rather than fight over them."

Dr El-Sayed's team insisted he had no involvement in the ad, produced by a group called Rebellion PAC, and that he strongly condemns antisemitism.

The Democratic candidate - who has drawn comparisons to New York's Mayor Zohran Mamdani - then released his own statement, accusing Ms Stevens of "relitigating a primary that ended three months ago".

His campaign then instructed the Michigan Representative to stay away from any future events so "as not to distract from the central issues of the campaign".

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow, who was pushed out of the Michigan primary, was confounded by the sudden spat.

"I have no idea what the hell Haley Stevens is doing," she told CNN before Dr El-Sayed's own statement.

"This is a moment where we have to recognise the stakes."

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Ms McMorrow's question may be answered by Ms Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, a Jewish lawyer who has endorsed Republican candidate Mr Rogers.

He suggested his fiancée would soon drop her endorsement of Dr El-Sayed unless he condemned the Rebellion PAC ad, which "puts Jews at risk".

And he later told The New York Times: "I think I'd be less safe on this planet if Abdul El-Sayed is the senator, if he is insisting on sticking to the current program.

"He is so unwelcoming to people who have reasonable anxieties about Jews being scapegoated once again, as they have been for thousands of years, that the idea that he will steer not just US policy, but foreign policy globally, it makes me extremely, extremely anxious."

Ms Stevens, when asked by the US newspaper if she actually wanted Dr El-Sayed to win, said: "I don't know why you’d ask me that."

Donald Trump weighed in on the spat while at a Halloween party in Mar-a-Lago, praising Ms Stevens for being a "good solid, pretty Democrat" who was now "in there fighting".

The President also said that if Dr El-Sayed were to win the election, it would be a "devastating blow for our country", and in an unfounded accusation, called him a "jihadist" who "probably hates all people".

Richard Goodstein, a Democratic strategist, told GB News that, despite the spat, he was "sad to say" Dr El-Sayed would win the Michigan election.

He said: "He will win because it's such a good Democratic year in a state that's otherwise kind of split 50/50.

"He's going to get dragged across because it's such a good Democratic year, but he's really ending on a sour note."

Dr El-Sayed, in the final days of the campaign, has campaigned with former President Barack Obama and socialist leader Bernie Sanders.