Democrat Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed hasn't closed the deal with two big groups that he needs to win: black people and Jewish people.
He's also had many Democrats defect to his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.
Among them was the fiancé of El-Sayed's Democrat primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), Jason Turkish, who actually attended an event for Mike Rogers on Wednesday.
"He got worse and worse and worse as this general election campaign has gone on," Turkish said, speaking of El-Sayed at that event. "Rather than bringing people together, it's just driven them further and further apart."
So people were paying close attention when Stevens spoke on CNN on Wednesday night to see what she had to say about El-Sayed. While she said she wanted him to win (she had endorsed him), she still basically leveled him, saying people were "hurt" and "confused."
Haley Stevens on voting for Abdul El-Sayed: "I still very much want our Democratic nominee, his name is Abdul, to win this race. There is so much on the line. But I will be honest, there are a lot of voters in Michigan, I was out knocking doors earlier today, and they are still undecided and they are hurt and they are confused..."
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 29, 2026
"I still very much want our Democratic nominee, his name is Abdul, to win this race. There is so much on the line. But I will be honest, there are a lot of voters in Michigan. I was out knocking doors earlier today in Macomb County, and they are still undecided, and they are hurt, and they are confused. And this is why our nominee is in a very strong position to denounce the hateful ads that have hurt people."
She pointed to one ad that had Tucker Carlson in it that El-Sayed put out and another ad that his team said he wasn't affiliated with that blamed Israel for the cost of groceries.
"Let's shut out the hate," Stevens said. "Let's get these undecided voters over the finish line."
When Collins pressed her if she was saying that El-Sayed hadn't done enough to reach the voters, her response was he could denounce antisemitic hate and things that make minority communities less safe.
Talk about "support" — while outlining some of the reasons people don't support him.
There's no other way to interpret that than to think, yeah, El-Sayed hasn't yet done enough.
Wow, Haley Stevens just took a two by four to Abdul el-Sayed on CNN. She says he hasn’t done enough to denounce hate and that black and Jewish voters are telling her they are uncomfortable with him. https://t.co/o7wGWwJ0Jp
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 29, 2026
The Young Turks' Cenk Uygur, the guy whose PAC was behind the "bananas" ad, thought she was trying to hurt El-Sayed. He was still going to the same playbook, talking about AIPAC.
She’s obviously trying to hurt Abdul. Why else go on TV to say you’re not sure about him right before the election? This is a strategy a lot of the Democrats have been doing the last two weeks. They can’t say they want him to lose but AIPAC has ordered them to hurt his chances.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 29, 2026
Uygur doesn't seem to get that the bananas ad hurt El-Sayed big time too, and he keeps compounding it with his comments.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.