El-Sayed and Stevens trade criticism over Israel ad days before planned Detroit rally

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens traded public criticism in statements released Friday, days before they were due to appear together at a Sunday rally in Detroit. It would be their first public appearance together in months, since El-Sayed beat Stevens in a bitter Democratic primary in August. Stevens said she expected El-Sayed to formally condemn an ad from Rebellion PAC, an outside progressive group, which she called antisemitic. The ad is set in a grocery store and suggests Israel and the war in Gaza are to blame for rising prices. She said that ad was why she agreed to campaign with him, and she asked him to apologize for his own related comments and to take down one of his own ads. El-Sayed is not affiliated with Rebellion PAC, and his campaign distanced itself from the ad in statements to The New York Times earlier in the week. Politico reported that El-Sayed's campaign now wants Stevens to stay away, and that some Democrats worry the dispute endangers the party's hold on the seat.

Left-leaning outlets lead with the dispute. NBC News headlines the clash over the Israel ad, quotes Stevens at length, and notes El-Sayed's lack of affiliation with the group. Politico focuses on the campaign's wish that Stevens stay away and on Democratic worries about the seat, and its excerpt does not mention the ad. The AP, in the alternative group, stresses a rare joint appearance and Democrats seeking unity, mentioning the divisions only as having spilled into public view. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.