Michigan Dem accuses primary winner of Israel scapegoating

With less than 48 hours until polls open across the United States, an internal fight in Michigan's Democratic Party threatens to hand Republicans a Senate seat they were expected to lose.

Haley Stevens, who represented the pro-Israel wing of the party and lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed, has gone public with an accusation that her former rival is scapegoating Israel for Michigan voters' economic troubles. El-Sayed now faces Republican Mike Rogers in a race that polling shows within 3.5 points.

Stevens, who was backed by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC during the primary, announced after her defeat that she would vote for El-Sayed and urged her supporters to do the same. But in recent days the truce collapsed after a Democratic campaign ad sparked outrage in the Jewish community.

The ad shows an American family forced to put groceries back on the shelf, blaming US aid to Israel for the high cost of living. In one scene, a woman is asked why she is returning the eggs her husband picked up for the children. She answers that they need to save seven dollars "to kill Palestinians," and goes on to claim that American taxpayer money funds the war in Gaza and even Israel's healthcare system.

The controversial campaign ad (El-Sayed campaign)

Stevens demanded that El-Sayed condemn the ad. On Friday she issued a sharp statement accusing him of turning Israel into the explanation for every economic problem facing Michigan residents. "Abdul promises to get money out of politics. He can start by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything people in Michigan can't afford," she wrote.

The tension reached the point where a joint appearance planned for the two at a Detroit church was cancelled. After it initially appeared the two had reached an understanding and would hold the event together, El-Sayed's campaign asked Stevens not to come following the criticism she had voiced.

When El-Sayed was asked whether he wanted her at the event, he dodged a direct answer. Asked whether she was deliberately trying to damage his chances of winning, he responded with a laugh: "That's not a question for me."

The internal split hands Republicans a political opening. Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate trying to pull Democratic voters to his side, was quick to praise Stevens and call her a courageous leader.

He said she was right to demand that El-Sayed condemn the ad, and declared he would be happy to host her at his campaign events.

According to polling averages, Rogers trails El-Sayed by about 3.5%, but the race is close enough that it could affect the balance of power in the Senate. El-Sayed, for his part, has called on Democrats to stop the internal fighting and focus on defeating his Republican opponent.

More than 52 million have already voted

The fight in Michigan is playing out against the backdrop of an unusually dramatic midterm election, with Republicans trying to prevent Democrats from taking control of Congress. Less than 48 hours before polls open, more than 52 million Americans have already cast their ballots through early voting, more than ten million more than at the same stage in the 2022 midterms.

The increase is especially pronounced in states with tight Senate races. Kansas and Iowa have seen a jump of about 30% in early voters.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit both states today in an effort to shore up Republican candidates and encourage his supporters to turn out. In Kansas he is trying to help incumbent Senator Roger Marshall, who trails his Democratic opponent Adam Hamilton by about 2.6%. In Iowa he will back Ashley Hinson, a member of the House running for Senate who holds a narrow half-point lead over Democrat Josh Turk.

Over the weekend Trump attended a rally in Florida, where he described the coming election as "the most important midterm election ever." Meanwhile, Democrats deployed former President Bill Clinton to a rally in Mississippi, where he warned of the possibility that American democracy would fail to correct itself.

Among the tens of millions of Americans who have already voted is Pope Leo XIV, who became the first sitting pope in history to participate in a US general election. Leo, who was born in Chicago as Robert Prevost and was the first American elected to lead the Catholic Church, voted by absentee ballot mailed from Vatican City in Rome.

The Vatican explained that the pope makes a point of exercising his civic right whenever he is eligible, even during periods when he has lived outside the United States. His vote is drawing particular interest against the backdrop of public clashes between him and Trump over the past year. The pope has criticized the American-Israeli war in Iran and the administration's immigration policy, while the president has attacked him and called him weak and influenced by the radical left.