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"The Democrats’ Israel split is defining the Michigan Senate primary" [1]
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Date: 2025-09-06
Here is the second in my series of posts on critical House and Senate primaries.
In my first post, on the primary campaign in Maine, I explained the purpose of this series: the ominous disconnect between the views--often passionately held--of Democrats and Independents on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Gaza war and the blank check support for Israel by most Democratic members of Congress. It is vital that this disconnect be corrected and the 2026 primaries are the place to achieve that—before it depresses the Democratic vote in the general election.
See my earlier post for the polling data: www.dailykos.com/…
The title of this post is taken from the headline of an article by Andrew Desiderio: punchbowl.news/…
The primary has come down to a three-way contest. Two candidates support a cutoff on arms to Israel as it pursues what the majority of Democrats and Independents consider a genocide in Gaza. The third candidate represents the establishment position and supports Israel’s actions unconditionally. Polls show that Stevens, who has more name recognition that the other two candidates, is ahead with voters who do not know about her rivals, but when they are told about them, Stevens’ lead declines or vanishes.
Here is how Desiderio describes the candidates:
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), seen as the favorite of Democratic leadership, is doubling down on her pro-Israel record. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Michigan health official Abdul El-Sayed — to varying degrees — say Democratic voters want their leaders to reconsider what’s been a reflexively pro-Israel stance by both parties in Washington for decades.
Desiderio then portrays each candidate in turn. Here is his take on Abdul El-Sayed
El-Sayed, a 40-year-old physician who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, was a prominent booster of the “uncommitted” movement during the Democratic presidential primary last year. El-Sayed saw it as a way to pressure then-President Joe Biden to change his support for Israel’s war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas, although he backed Democrats in the general election. But the move reflected the anger at Democratic Party leaders among Michigan’s prominent Arab-American community. El-Sayed insists his position isn’t only smart politics in a Democratic primary but also in a general election. “There’s an opportunity to take back the voters we lost in 2024 — who, by the way, happen to be Arab voters and young men ,” El-Sayed told a crowd here, describing himself. “[Trump] is, for whatever reason, someone who comes off as being authentic,” El-Sayed added in an interview. “People are going to look at me and be like, that man believes what he says.”
The Bernie Sanders-backed El Sayed is also defining his campaign as fighting oligarchy.
Like El-Sayed, McMorrow now breaks with the policy of unconditional support for Israel. Her first statement on the issue was hesitant, with acknowledgement of the suffering in Gaza but no clear position, and generated criticism, as did suggestions she had reached out to pro-Israel parties to assure them of her support. She has since articulated a clearer stance.
The Senate Democratic Caucus is bitterly divided over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the tidal wave of Palestinian civilian casualties. This is evidenced by recent Senate votes on resolutions to block offensive weapons sales to Israel. Both El-Sayed and McMorrow told us they would’ve backed the resolutions, which have steadily picked up additional Democratic support over the past year as the conflict continues. . . This is news: McMorrow is publicly urging AIPAC to stay out of the Michigan primary, adding that she’s been in touch with the organization directly, as well as other pro-Israel groups. McMorrow said the groups have been “receptive,” later clarifying that she was referring to her positions on Israel more broadly. [ my gloss: I don’t know why AIPAC would be receptive to her call for an offensive arms embargo on Israel ]. “I think they understand the shifting dynamics not only in Michigan but around the country and the world,” McMorrow added. “People are very attuned to the deep influence PACs have that outweighs the influence of people and voters.”
As for Stevens:
Stevens was first elected to the House in 2018, flipping a Trump district by focusing on bipartisanship and revitalizing the state’s manufacturing industry. Redistricting forced Stevens to run in 2022 against a fellow incumbent, then-Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), who was more critical of Israel. AIPAC poured tons of cash into the race on Stevens’ behalf. Since then, the pro-Israel group has also helped topple progressive “Squad” members.
Stevens sits on the House committee led by Rep. Tim Walberg that has been dragging university presidents into hearings in which they are interrogated and berated for alleged institutional antisemitism and then subjected to threats from the likes of Elise Stefanik and Randy (“Nuke Gaza” and “Starve Away, Gazans” Fine, but unlike other Democrats on the committee. Stevens eagerly joins in on the antisemitism hunt against universities that allowed pro-Palestinian protests. That committee’s threats’ have been a signal for the Trump administration to cut billions of dollars from universities, mainly in the form of slashing grants for scientific and medical research.
I have one major concern about this primary: that El-Sayed and McMorrow split the vote of those who want the US to stop its enabling and encouraging of the Netanyahu government repression and (according to the major international and Israeli human rights organizations, genocide)--, allowing Stevens to slip into the general election. That would a gift for the consensus Republican candidate Mike Rogers, who had high name recognition have his Senatorial campaign in 2025 against Elissa Slotkin. It would be a blow to both Palestinians--as well as Israelis who are seeing their support worldwide crumble in the face of Israel’s U.S.-enabled and encouraged actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
If either El-Sayed or McMorrow pulls ahead of the others significantly, I would hope the weaker candidate might withdraw. The primary debates among the three candidates should be barn-burners.
For the polls and fundraising totals thus far, see en.wikipedia.org/...
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/6/2342123/-The-Democrats-Israel-split-is-defining-the-Michigan-Senate-primary?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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