Dem
47
GOP
53
On Tuesday, Michigan Democratic primary candidates Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed had their third debate, but their first one without Mallory McMorrow, who has dropped out. It was more pointed that the earlier three-way debates, with the candidates vigorously challenging each other directly. Both are trying to pick up McMorrow's supporters.
Stevens, who is backed by almost the entire Democratic establishment, came out swinging. She needs to, since she is trailing El-Sayed in the polls. She said "I'm the only person running for United States Senate in Michigan who is not a millionaire. I am not trying to sell a book or a podcast. I'm the only one on this stage who doesn't have a talent agent trying to pitch me for paid speeches, and unlike my opponent, I'm not running at the first mic or camera I see. We do not need a celebrity senator, we need a workhorse." El-Sayed's pitch for the working class is weakened somewhat by his being a millionaire celebrity. He is not one of "the people."
Throughout the debate, El-Sayed hammered on the fact that he refuses to take corporate donations, which Stevens is willing to accept. When the moderator asked El-Sayed about how he would make life better for people in Michigan, he said he wants free health care, and to raise wages, improve schools, and fix roads. Of course, making the math work is impossible, but in a debate, who cares about math?
While El-Sayed talked about getting money out of politics, Stevens hit him on his own money. She released all of her tax returns long ago, and he is just getting around to it. The message here is: "What are you hiding?"
Another big issue is AIPAC. Stevens has been the (indirect) beneficiary of tens of millions of dollars of outside spending. She supports Israel but opposes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. El-Sayed attacked her over and over on this. That is likely to sit well with the state's 250,000 Muslims, the largest concentration of any state. AIPAC spending is clever, though. It rarely mentions Israel or the Middle East. It generally attacks its opponent on pure domestic issues, like the economy.
What didn't come up is electability. Some Democrats believe that the moderate Stevens is much more electable than the leftist El-Sayed in purple Michigan, which is not NYC. One of Stevens' best arguments is that she flipped a House seat that had long been held by a Republican. She can get Republican votes, something that El-Sayed is not going to be able to do.
The primary is Aug. 4. (V)