US: the split in Michigan comes as a shock – Democrat Stevens backs the Republican and drops El Sayed

El-Sayed, a Muslim of Egyptian origin born in Michigan, has been targeted by Trump and other Republican figures who have repeatedly questioned his loyalty to the United States, going so far as to label him – without any evidence – a terrorist sympathiser and claiming that his election would provoke attacks against Americans. El-Sayed has described the doubts raised about his loyalty to his country as ‘shameful’.

Now Trump has even gone so far as to say that he would like Stevens to ‘join’ the Republican Party. But the point is not so much that the Republicans are trying to drive a wedge between them, but rather the resilience of the Democratic Party itself, which for years now has had to reconcile many different factions within its ranks.

Admittedly, the New York Times points out that the rift between El Sayed and Stevens is, first and foremost, a personal one; the two politicians, both millennials, are polar opposites. But this showdown, just hours before Tuesday’s election, also reveals a deep rift within the Democratic Party over what its relationship with Israel and Jewish donors should be. Should he win on Tuesday and take his seat in the Senate in January, Dr El-Sayed would become the US senator most hostile to Israel since the founding of the Jewish state 78 years ago. This is no minor detail at a time when the United States, alongside Israel, is engaged in an uncertain war against Iran, and the country is torn between pro-Palestinian demonstrations and ‘Make America Great Again’ protests calling for a withdrawal from the region.

Just a few hours after the split with his rival, El-Sayed does not, however, appear to have been affected by it; on the contrary: since Stevens’s shock announcement, he has in fact raised $1.2 million, according to Politico (a figure that has since doubled to $2.4 million, according to an update from Bloomberg). However, the end of the Stevens-El-Sayed alliance has also given rise to an embarrassing and potentially costly situation for the Democrats, as well as handing the Republicans an unexpected advantage in their bid to secure a crucial seat. The Senate race in Michigan is, in fact, regarded by analysts as one of the most hotly contested in Tuesday’s mid-term elections. It is one of the few decisive contests that will ultimately determine who gains control of the Senate. The seat is currently held by a Democrat who has decided not to stand for re-election; the last time a Republican was elected to this seat was in 1994. However, in the last presidential election, Michigan was one of the key swing states: in 2020 it voted for Joe Biden, whilst in 2024 it chose Donald Trump. The party is aiming to regain control of the Senate in Tuesday’s election, but to do so it needs a net gain of four seats. A defeat in Michigan – a state currently under Democratic control – would be a major blow and would force the party to win five more seats to achieve its goal.

The Democratic Party primaries in Michigan in August, which saw El Sayed and Stevens go head-to-head, highlighted divisions over the party’s direction ahead of the 2028 presidential election. El-Sayed, a former public health official and the son of Egyptian immigrants, gave voice to the grassroots frustration with Washington’s policies and the ties between the United States and Israel. Stevens, a Democrat with more centrist leanings, enjoyed the support of prominent party figures during the primaries, such as the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer (who has often been touted as a possible candidate for the White House in 2028).