Establishment Democrats Make Last Stand Against Socialist Takeover with Bizarre Rep. Haley Stevens Debate

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed presented Michigan Democrats with sharply different choices Monday during their final Senate debate before the August 4 primary, clashing over outside spending, corporate political contributions, Israel, immigration, health care, and which candidate was better positioned to defeat Republican Mike Rogers.

The Fox 2 Detroit debate highlighted the divide between Stevens, who is backed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), and El-Sayed, who has endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and the United Auto Workers.

Outside spending and campaign finances dominated much of the debate. Stevens’ campaign and six super PACs backing her have spent more than $61 million on primary ads, according to AdImpact figures shared by CBS. El-Sayed’s campaign and outside groups supporting him have spent more than $15.3 million combined, according to FEC reports cited by CBS.

The New York Times reported that United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s main super PAC, had spent $30.6 million on advertising backing Stevens, while six other super PACs that had not disclosed their donors spent a combined $29.4 million on her behalf. 

El-Sayed repeatedly argued that groups spending tens of millions of dollars to support Stevens would expect something in return.

“Sixty million dollars from outside organizations in this race didn’t just go nowhere,” El-Sayed said. “It’s because those exact same organizations expect something on the other side.” He added that they “expect to own your next U.S. senator.”

He also questioned Stevens’ electability without that financial advantage.

“If you need a $60 million crutch, you probably can’t be elected on your own terms,” he said.

Stevens countered that El-Sayed also benefits from Fighting for Michigan PAC, which had spent about $2.4 million as of the debate. She said she did not believe there was “much difference” between super PACs supporting either candidate and pointed to her A grade from End Citizens United and endorsement from Defend the Vote.

The candidates also sparred over contributions connected to DTE Energy and Consumers Energy.

Moderator Roop Raj asked Stevens whether she was taking money from the two utilities for her Senate campaign. Stevens initially deflected, speaking about her transparency and criticism of her voice, before Raj pressed her for a direct answer. She then said no.

The Detroit News reported that Stevens’ House campaign received approximately $63,500 from the utilities’ main political action committees between 2019 and 2025. Her House committee later transferred two $2,500 contributions — one originating from DTE and one from Consumers Energy — to her Senate committee.

After the debate, Stevens said she answered no because Raj had asked specifically about the Senate race. El-Sayed called her response a “frank lie,” arguing that money transferred into her Senate committee had still entered the Senate campaign.

Israel and AIPAC also emerged as central points of disagreement. El-Sayed criticized Stevens for voting against cutting off U.S. aid to Israel and linked the vote to spending by United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s principal super PAC.

“That is the pro quo that comes with the quid of $30 million spent by AIPAC,” El-Sayed said.

Stevens responded by pointing to the super PAC supporting El-Sayed. “I don’t think there’s much difference between super PACs going in for Abdul or super PACs going in for me,” she said.

The candidates also disagreed over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Stevens pointed to her visit to an ICE detention facility and said the agency’s treatment of detainees had become unacceptable.

“I went up to an ICE detention facility to call out and see why people were losing their lives, why they were being held for long periods of time without due process,” Stevens said. “This has been an outrage.”

El-Sayed took a more sweeping position, calling for ICE to be abolished.

“The idea that somehow we can’t say ‘abolish ICE’ because we’re so afraid of what they’re going to say, when we’ve seen ICE terrorize people in our streets, to me, it is exactly the kind of cowardice that we don’t need from Democrats,” he said.

Asked about accusations that he is a socialist, El-Sayed rejected the label and argued that monopolies and oligopolies pose the greatest threat to capitalism.

“I’m not a socialist,” El-Sayed said. “I’m just a capitalist who understands how capitalism works. The biggest threat to capitalism was never the idea of government regulation. It was always monopoly.”

He continued: “I think government ought to be there to regulate on monopolies and oligopolies, so that everybody can actually participate in an economy without having to be forced to pay more or get paid less for the work that they do.”

Elsewhere in the debate, El-Sayed called for eliminating the Senate filibuster, passing the PRO Act, taxing billionaire wealth, strengthening antitrust enforcement, and establishing Medicare for All.

Stevens portrayed El-Sayed as a “celebrity candidate” who viewed the Senate as another step toward higher office, pointing to his podcasts, books, and what she said was a website for a presidential campaign.

“A lot of you remember Abdul from when he first ran for governor in 2018,” she said. “It didn’t work out, so he started the podcast, he wrote the books, and now he’s running for Senate.”

“You can listen to the podcast. It’s there, Congresswoman,” he said. “I’m more concerned about the fact that people can’t pay for their gas, they can’t pay for their groceries.”

He added that voters were worried about schools, electricity rates, and the cost of filling their cars.

Moderator Roop Raj asked El-Sayed about a leaked call in which he referred to putting an “ogre on a pike.” El-Sayed said he was referring to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), not Stevens.

Stevens then cited El-Sayed’s reported comments that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was “bought and paid for,” that “no one cares about Debbie Stabenow,” and that state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who had been running in the Democratic Senate primary before dropping out, “isn’t smart enough.”

El-Sayed accused Stevens of using a discussion about civility to launch another attack against him.

“In an effort to talk about civility, I just took another attack,” he said. “Do you deserve a politician more focused on their opponent because they want to be in a seat, or do you deserve a politics where we’re all asking, how do we actually serve you best?”

Stevens then said, “Well, thank you for clarifying that you didn’t call me an ogre.”

Raj immediately corrected her: “No, again, for the record, it was Mr. Fetterman that was apparently called an ogre in the call, not you.”

A Fox 2 Detroit online poll asking viewers who won Monday night’s Democratic debate showed 94 percent selecting El-Sayed and six percent selecting Stevens.

Stevens’ speaking style has drawn attention beyond the debate. While campaigning with Clyburn, she referred to “cool kids on the internet” and possible “coastal elites” who were making fun of how she talks, arguing that the criticism was directed at Michigan more broadly. “They’re making fun of Michigan,” Stevens said. “They’re thinking they’re better than us, and what they don’t know is I am your voice, and their jokes and their criticism only makes me fight harder.”

In another campaign clip that circulated widely online, Stevens delivered an animated promise to advocate for the state. “I am gonna be working on our behalf. I am gonna be telling the stories on our behalf,” she said, adding that she would do so with “a little bit of joy, a little bit of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy, and a little bit of stick it to them, because that’s the Michigan way.”

Mike Rogers said on Breitbart News Saturday that Democrats are “fractured like I’ve never seen the Democrat Party fractured here,” but said his campaign is prepared for either Stevens or El-Sayed. “We’re going to beat either one because we’re preparing for either one,” he said. Rogers framed the general election as “crazy versus common sense,” adding, “We’re a working-class state in Michigan. Common sense is going to win the day.” President Donald Trump also praised Rogers Monday at a General Motors facility in Milford, calling him “one of the best candidates we have anywhere.”