Abdul El-Sayed had one chance to hold his party together in the final week of the Michigan Senate race.
He refused – and a Democrat who was supposed to be his ally made him pay for it.
What happened inside a Detroit church Sunday morning set off a civil war his party wasn't ready for.
El-Sayed Refused to Condemn Antisemitism in the Michigan Senate Race and Lost the Democrat He Needed Most
An outside group running ads for El-Sayed released a spot blaming Israel for high American grocery prices, and the Anti-Defamation League called it a "case study in Jew-hatred."
The ad came from Rebellion PAC, fronted by Cenk Uygur – the uncle of Hasan Piker, an El-Sayed campaign surrogate who spent the race working to elect him.
Democrat Congressman Brad Schneider, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, called the ad "gross" and "antisemitic" and demanded El-Sayed "publicly condemn" it, and a coalition of Michigan rabbis and Jewish organizations across the state demanded the same.
El-Sayed's campaign said the spot was "not affiliated in any way" with their operation and for days refused to condemn its content. He eventually condemned the ad Saturday – then publicly disinvited Stevens from Sunday's church service in the same breath.
Rep. Haley Stevens, who had lost the Democrat primary to El-Sayed in August, gave him a direct ultimatum: condemn the ad publicly, apologize for past anti-Israel statements, and she'd campaign for him Sunday at Detroit's Perfecting Church alongside Rep. Jim Clyburn.
El-Sayed's campaign told her to stay away from his events for the rest of the race.
That was his decision two days before Election Day – protect the ad, lose the congresswoman.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Expelled Haley Stevens After She Endorsed Mike Rogers
Stevens showed up at Perfecting Church anyway – with Trump-endorsed Republican Mike Rogers seated next to her during the service – and posted a video endorsing him officially afterward.
"I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," she said.
Her entire congressional staff, including her longtime chief of staff, resigned Sunday morning, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "despicable betrayal" on social media without a single word about the antisemitic ad that started it.
Michigan Democrat Party chair Curtis Hertel then formally expelled Stevens from the state party, declaring she is "not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future."
House Democrats pushed to remove her from their caucus altogether, pulling her from several Democrat text chains within hours.
"She should be removed from our caucus," one House Democrat told Axios.
A sitting congresswoman publicly endorsing the Republican opponent in her own state's Senate race, with her entire staff quitting on the spot, is not something that happens in modern American politics.
Rogers had been building this coalition all cycle, peeling off pro-Israel Michigan Democrats who looked at El-Sayed's campaign and decided they couldn't carry that water, and Stevens is the highest-profile one yet to act on it.
She did it on camera, in a church, two days before the polls open.
The race was already tight – a late October WDIV/Detroit News poll had El-Sayed at 51.4% with a four-point margin of error – and he walks into Election Day without a congresswoman who should have been one of his strongest allies, carrying an antisemitism problem he created and refused to fix.
Stevens woke up Sunday morning, called Rogers herself, and asked if they could attend church together. He immediately said yes.
El-Sayed said "None of this matters."
Rogers said "I'm glad I'm not running against Haley Stevens today."
Donald Trump said he would "love to" have Stevens join the Republican Party.
The Democrat Party wants you to believe this story is about Haley Stevens betraying her party.
It's about a party that spent the closing weeks of a critical Senate race protecting an antisemitic ad and expelled the congresswoman who called it out.
Schumer didn't say a word when El-Sayed refused to condemn the ad, and Hertel didn't expel anyone for running it – only for objecting to it.
That's the Democrat Party in 2026: the radical left sets the terms, the nominee falls in line, and any Democrat who demands basic accountability gets thrown out before Election Day.
Sources:
- Washington Free Beacon, "Hasan Piker's Uncle Behind Michigan Senate Ad Blaming Israel for Egg Prices: 'Case Study in Antisemitism,'" Washington Free Beacon, October 26, 2026.
- World Israel News Staff, "El-Sayed Bars Democrat from Campaign for Demanding He Condemn Antisemitic Ad," World Israel News, October 31, 2026.
- JNS Staff, "Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate Race," JNS, November 1, 2026.
- Ben Smith, "BREAKING: Haley Stevens Endorses Mike Rogers," Legal Insurrection, November 1, 2026.
- Nick Arama, "MI Dem Party Chair's Disgusting Move Against Haley Stevens," RedState, November 1, 2026.
- Breitbart News, "Michigan Democrat Party Chair Says Rep. Haley Stevens 'Not a Current Member' of State Democrat Party," Breitbart, November 1, 2026.
- Axios, "Haley Stevens Faces Push for Removal from House Dem Caucus," Axios, November 1, 2026.