Michigan Democrats Face Internal Divisions Ahead of November
When Democrats gathered this week in a West Michigan congressional district they are trying to flip blue, they wanted to talk about the cost of living under President Donald Trump. But it did not take long for the conversation to turn to a controversy dividing their party.
One attendee chided U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten for failing to support Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. “Your inflammatory rhetoric has nothing to do with creating a better economic future for the people of West Michigan, and everything to do with protecting the pipeline of our tax dollars to Israel,” the woman said.
The exchange captured a problem confronting Democrats as they head toward November. Party leaders believe concerns about the economy have given them an opening to win control of Congress, but internal divisions are making it harder to keep the focus there.
A Bruising Primary Leaves Wounds Open
Nowhere is that tension more pronounced than Michigan, where Democrats are trying to regroup after a bruising Senate primary that El-Sayed won over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens earlier this month. Disputes over Israel, antisemitism and El-Sayed’s association with controversial online commentator Hasan Piker have complicated the party’s effort to turn its attention to Republican Mike Rogers.
El-Sayed, who would be the country’s first Muslim senator, has denounced antisemitism while fiercely criticizing Israel for its military operations in Gaza. He campaigned on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, and ending military aid to Israel. The race became one of the nation’s most expensive campaigns and a proxy battle between the Democratic Party’s establishment and progressive wings, with AIPAC and its affiliates spending more than $30 million supporting Stevens — the largest investment in a race ever from the organization, according to AP News.
With the election fast approaching, Scholten and some other Democrats have withheld their support for El-Sayed for now. “I think it’s up to the top of the ticket to unify the top of the ticket,” Scholten said Tuesday, as The Detroit News reported.
The Piker Flashpoint
El-Sayed’s appearances on the campaign trail with Piker have become a particular flashpoint in the disagreement. Piker is a popular streamer with a history of controversial remarks that include saying America “deserved 9/11.” He recently became embroiled in controversy again when he argued against the idea that opposing Israel is antisemitic, suggesting that pro-Israel rhetoric could lead to backlash against American Jews.
“If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel mind you, but against American Jews,” he said during a livestream.
The backlash was swift among Democrats. Sen. Cory Booker called Piker’s comments “dangerous and hateful language targeting Jewish Americans,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the “malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” as AP News reported.
Michigan state Rep. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee for a House seat outside Detroit, also withheld his support, saying, “I will not be lectured by a California podcaster about what Oakland County, Michigan’s Jewish community should and shouldn’t believe.”
Some Democrats outside Michigan have gone further in criticizing El-Sayed. “There’s no way I’m ever coming out for El-Sayed, right now,” New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer said on CNN, adding that El-Sayed has “refused to back off his views towards Jewish Americans.”
While El-Sayed has put some distance between himself and Piker amid the controversies, he has refused to cut ties completely. In a statement, he said “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokesperson.” He also said, “Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms.”
Republicans see an opportunity in the continued dispute. “It’s great,” said Republican strategist Jason Roe. “You can tell these Democrats are not going to distance themselves. Piker is to Democrats what Trump is to Republicans. You embrace him, it’s not helpful, and distance is also not helpful.”
Concerns Over Convention Safety
Michigan Democrats from across the state are expected to gather this weekend for a convention in Lansing to finalize the party’s November ticket. Ahead of the convention, all the party’s nominees and party chair Curtis Hertel sent a letter saying that “disruptive behavior or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated,” with security measures including law enforcement officers and screening at building entrances, The Detroit News reported.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish and cannot run for reelection due to term limits, has said she won’t attend the convention due to safety concerns, saying she doesn’t want to be chased around, harassed, or booed off the stage. She has cited a rise in antisemitism within her party.
“We have a robust plan to make sure that people are safe,” Hertel said on The Detroit News Political Insider podcast. “And that is something that is really important.”
Democrats Try to Turn Toward November
Democrats who have rallied behind El-Sayed are increasingly eager to move beyond the fight. “I am done. So don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about,” Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell said Wednesday. “I don’t agree with Hasan Piker on a lot of stuff.”
She appeared alongside El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland at a campaign event in Ann Arbor on Wednesday. Raskin, who is Jewish, described the divisions as a “process that we go through” after the primary. “The Democratic Party is a big, sometimes an unruly family, but we’re all going to be together in the end,” he said.
El-Sayed at Wednesday’s event in Ann Arbor expressed frustration with the continued focus on Piker. “You would think if you turn on any media that this whole campaign is about a streamer in California,” he said. But he acknowledged that some Democrats have yet to put the primary behind them. “There are a few people who are still nursing wounds or grievances from the primary,” El-Sayed said. “I get it. Losing is hard.”
What’s at Stake
The Michigan Senate race is considered a must-win for Democrats to have any chance of taking control of the Senate in the last two years of President Trump’s term. The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and Michigan’s purple-state status makes the race particularly competitive. As The Nation noted, progressives have found surprising success in primaries across the country this cycle, making El-Sayed’s victory a significant test of the party’s direction.
El-Sayed, a former Detroit and Wayne County health director and Rhodes Scholar, has argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda. His Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, has sought to capitalize on the Democratic infighting, saying El-Sayed “doesn’t have the guts to disavow his running mate” and is “unfit to represent our state.”
The upcoming convention in Lansing will be an early test of whether Michigan Democrats can project unity heading into the final stretch of the campaign. With control of the Senate potentially hanging in the balance, the stakes could hardly be higher — and the party’s ability to resolve its internal conflicts may determine whether it can effectively challenge the Trump administration in November.