Mackinac Island — The three Democratic candidates for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat ― Haley Stevens, Abdul El-Sayed and Mallory McMorrow ― debated Thursday in the closing hours of the Mackinac Policy Conference on issues including antisemitism, eliminating the filibuster, taxing billionaires and ending U.S. military aid.
One of the most explosive early exchanges among the Senate hopefuls came when the candidates were asked about what influence their campaign donors have over their votes and actions as an elected official.
The moderator singled out Stevens for taking money from the pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and asking “what that money means and what it buys?”
Stevens didn’t directly answer, saying that she was proud to have support from retired teachers, grocery clerks and factory workers and blamed Republicans in Congress for not backing campaign finance reform that she supported in the U.S. House.
“Campaigns are about movements of ideas, and I articulate positions of freedom and democracy and what Michigan needs to succeed at the global stage,” Stevens said.
El-Sayed interjected: “You’re also not answering the question.”
He barreled on, saying the AIPAC money “buys $3.5 billion sent to a foreign military that could be used here to give glasses here, to provide health care here, to build schools here ― that’s where our money should be used.”
El-Sayed also took shots at McMorrow, accusing her of voting to give data centers tax breaks.
“All of these issues go back to how we finance campaigns,” he said, saying he’s the only candidate on stage who hadn’t taken money from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan during a separate exchange on health care cost hikes.
The candidates agreed on abolishing the legislative filibuster ― the 60-vote super-majority required to pass most Senate legislation ― and lamented rising antisemitism in their own party.
McMorrow recounted the story of someone yelling an antisemitic slur at her Jewish husband during the Democratic state convention last month as he was walking with their 5-year-old.
“We need to be able to state very clearly that what the Netanyahu government is doing is wrong, that the violence needs to end, that we need to bring about long-term peace and security for Palestinians and for Israelis, and that … turning into an anti-American Jewish message is dangerous,” McMorrow said, referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary is one of the most competitive contests in the country this year after U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, opted not to seek reelection to another six-year term.
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will likely face former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake Township in the November general election, with national Republicans targeting the seat as a top pick-up opportunity.
Stevens held a narrow edge over former El-Sayed in a statewide poll of likely Michigan voters last month that showed the pair in a statistical toss-up. McMorrow trailed in third place, and 36% of voters indicated they were undecided.
Stevens, a four-term congresswoman from Birmingham, garnered 25% of support from survey respondents, while physician El-Sayed of Ann Arbor came in at 23% and McMorrow of Royal Oak finished 6 percentage points back at 16% among 500 likely voters in the August Democratic primary election.
The Lansing-based polling firm Glengariff Group conducted the survey April 17-19 for the Detroit Regional Chamber, which sponsors the Mackinac conference. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Among self-described “definite” primary voters, Stevens maintained a 2-point lead over El-Sayed and McMorrow moved up 2 percentage points to nearly 18%, so that the three candidates all finished within 7.4 points of one another, according to the poll results.
mburke@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: El-Sayed goes on attack in U.S. Senate debate with Stevens, McMorrow
Reporting by Melissa Nann Burke and Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
