The final Democratic Senate debate before next week’s Michigan primary was overshadowed Monday night by Abdul El-Sayed’s recently leaked comments about putting the head of an “ogre” on a pike, as rival Rep. Haley Stevens argued the far-Left candidate was more interested in national political fights than representing Michigan.
The confrontation came just hours after leaked audio from a donor call thrust El-Sayed into a new controversy, giving Stevens fresh ammunition just one week before the August 4 primary.
Stevens opened the debate by accusing El-Sayed of pursuing political celebrity rather than public service. “Abdul is running for celebrity,” Stevens said. “Republicans are propping up his campaign, and Mike Rogers just the other day said in a secret phone call that he makes it easier for him to win, that he’s the one he wants to run against.”
“Look, this isn’t about the D.C. or New York influencer crowd. This is about putting Michigan first,” she added.
Later, moderator Roop Raj confronted El-Sayed about the leaked audio, noting that many Democrats had taken offense to his comments about putting an “ogre” on a pike. “Do you regret any of the comments that you’ve made?” Raj asked. El-Sayed declined to directly apologize, instead arguing he has consistently urged civility among his supporters.
“I took to Twitter last week and said that the tone in which people talk about my opponent is unkind,” El-Sayed said. “I asked anybody who supported me to not talk about her that way.”
He then sought to clarify that the “ogre” remark was not directed at Stevens but at Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman. “I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman, who’s a senator from Pennsylvania, who has done terrible things, got elected on a set of values, and is now completely throwing those values in the mud,” El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed quickly pivoted back to one of his core campaign themes, accusing Stevens of benefiting from millions of dollars in outside spending tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
“When we talk about unkindness, I also just want to speak to the fact that, on behalf of my opponent, UDP — another name for AIPAC — has been running attack ad after attack ad after attack ad on my character,” El-Sayed said.
Stevens responded by using the controversy to reinforce a broader critique of her opponent, arguing that his own recorded remarks showed he was preoccupied with national political ambitions rather than Michigan.
“There was something else that was revealed in the phone call,” Stevens said. “He said that he’s not going to be able to get much done, that he’s not focused on policy for the first two years that he is in the United States Senate, that he’s going to be focused on national politics.”
Pressed again on civility, Stevens pointed to El-Sayed’s past remarks about prominent Michigan Democrats.
“Only he can account for saying that Whitmer is ‘bought and paid for,’ or that ‘no one cares about Debbie Stabenow,’ or that Mallory McMorrow ‘isn’t smart enough,'” Stevens said.
El-Sayed again argued the race should focus less on personalities and more on the influence of wealthy donors and special interests.
“I told you at the outset that my opponent was going to make this race about me and her,” El-Sayed said. “But this is about you,” referring to Michigan Democratic voters.
The sharp exchange briefly gave way to one of the night’s lighter moments after El-Sayed clarified the “ogre” remark referred to Fetterman rather than Stevens.
“Thank you for clarifying that you didn’t call me an ogre,” Stevens quipped.
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