Former rival dodges full-throated El-Sayed endorsement after bitter Senate primary

Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan declined, during a Sunday appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," to say she is fully behind Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee who narrowly beat her in the August primary. The hesitation comes only days before the midterm elections and points to unresolved friction among Michigan Democrats, according to Fox News.

Host Dana Bash asked why Stevens has not appeared on the trail with El-Sayed even though she endorsed him after the primary. Stevens answered by citing her campaigning for Democratic House candidates around the state. Pressed on whether she remains fully behind him, she said she is on the Democratic ticket and cannot claim to agree with everything that has happened. She named gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson and House candidates as people she is backing, and Bash noted that El-Sayed was missing from that list. Stevens replied that she is on the team.

The primary was bitter, with disputes over Israel, Iran and the party's direction. Many of Stevens' backers, including Black and Jewish voters, are groups El-Sayed is trying to win over as he faces Republican Mike Rogers in November. Stevens suggested he still has work to do with some of them.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →