Stevens to appear alongside El-Sayed for first time in months, but expects apology

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) on Sunday will appear alongside Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for the first time in months in what appears to be a reluctant show of unity after criticizing the Democratic nominee for his comments about Israel.

Stevens confirmed Friday in a statement posted to the social platform X that she would join Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and El-Sayed at a church service in Detroit this Sunday.

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

A spokesperson for El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment about the joint appearance or Stevens’s comments.

Stevens said she accepted the invitation to appear alongside El-Sayed from Clyburn, not from El-Sayed’s campaign.

The joint appearance comes after Stevens’s fiance revealed he would vote for El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (Mich.), because of El-Sayed’s rhetoric about Israel.

Tension emerged over a digital ad run by an outside progressive group in which a woman is grocery shopping and appears to blame Israel for high prices . El-Sayed’s campaign previously said it was not responsible for the ad.

Stevens criticized the ad for “fearmongering” and told CNN on Wednesday that a lot of Michigan voters are “hurt” and “confused,” calling on El-Sayed to denounce the ad .

In her statement Friday, she again criticized her former primary opponent for not condemning the ad more forcefully, calling on the Democratic nominee to get “Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”

“The ad did not invent its argument; it dramatized one Dr. El-Sayed has made in his own words throughout this campaign: that Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, healthcare, and child care,” Stevens said. “I therefore expect him to apologize for those statements as well.”

El-Sayed has been highly critical of Israel throughout the campaign, with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, spending millions on behalf of Stevens in the primary. El-Sayed ultimately defeated Stevens by a narrow margin.

Rogers has repeatedly attacked El-Sayed for his comments about Israel and is courting disaffected Jewish voters , including Democrats. Polls show a competitive race, but one in which El-Sayed narrowly leads.

Nonpartisan election forecaster Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives El-Sayed a 73 percent chance to retain the seat for Democrats.