Haley Stevens is everywhere — except on the trail for El-Sayed
The former Senate candidate has endorsed her former primary foe — but not pushing hard for former backers to do the same
Haley Stevens has been seen everywhere lately, but one notable absence is her presence on the trail with her former Senate primary rival, Abdul El-Sayed. After their intense August 4 primary, Stevens quickly endorsed El-Sayed, but she has been notably absent from his campaign trail since then. This has become increasingly noticeable as the crucial Senate contest approaches in the final weeks.
Some of Stevens' old supporters are still hesitant to support El-Sayed. During an interview, Stevens explained that El-Sayed is building a "new coalition" in the race against GOP former Rep. Mike Rogers, but she doesn't feel it's her place to push her more skeptical supporters into joining this new coalition. When probed about encouraging her donors to back El-Sayed, Stevens referred the question to Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who is actively raising funds for El-Sayed.
Stevens mentioned that she has checked in with El-Sayed's team, but hasn't met with him recently due to her travel schedule. The divide is becoming more apparent, particularly among Black and Jewish voters who backed Stevens in the primary. El-Sayed has been working hard to expand his coalition in the general election, visiting rural Michigan and filling venues in the Upper Peninsula.
Stevens acknowledged the changing dynamics and the emergence of a new coalition around El-Sayed, but noted that there is still some resistance to El-Sayed among certain segments of the community.
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