'We Don’t Need to Be Unkind to Be Honest': El-Sayed Asks Supporters to Criticize Haley Stevens on 'the Issues'

Rep. Haley Stevens has become the subject of mockery in recent days after a viral clip showed her on the campaign trail for Michigan's Democratic US Senate primary attempting to rev up supporters with an almost comically Midwestern drawl.

“I am gonna be workin’ on our behalf, I am gonna be tellin’ the stories on our behalf,” Stevens said in the 19-second clip, which was posted over the weekend by the social media arm of the Republican National Committee. “And you better believe I’m gonna be doin’ it with a little bit of joy, a little bit of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy, and a little bit of ‘stick it to ’em!’ Because that’s the Michigan way!”

While Stevens may have been attempting to portray an authentic working-class affect, it came off as anything but to the denizens of X, the everything app.

Rather than a salt-of-the-earth Michigander, users said she sounded more like one of Chris Farley's characters on Saturday Night Live, Millhouse from The Simpsons "trying to give a class presentation," or a "baseball coach from the Great Depression."

But one person has refrained from joining the pile-on: Her Democratic primary opponent, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

In a post to social media on Friday, he discouraged his supporters online from ridiculing Stevens "for things that have nothing to do with her policies or politics," which he said was "unkind and unhelpful."

El-Sayed, the former director of public health for Detroit, who has championed a progressive agenda including Medicare For All, increased taxes on the wealthy, and an end to military aid to Israel, instead urged his backers to "focus on the issues" in the last weeks before the primary that will be held on August 4.

Since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-8) dropped out of the race earlier this month, out-of-state donors have revved up their pro-Stevens spending in what Punchbowl News reporter Ally Munick described as a "full court press to stop" El-Sayed.

As Common Dreams reported on Thursday:

Outside spending for Stevens from what the Detroit Free Press described as “murky” groups has dwarfed the amount spent for El-Sayed. The political advertisement tracker AdImpact said that of the $46 million spent or reserved by the two campaigns for television ads, nearly three-quarters has been spent on behalf of Stevens or against El-Sayed...

Additional outside spending in support of Stevens is estimated to have soared to roughly $50 million, according to an analysis by [Mutnick].

Last Friday, United Democracy Project (UDP), which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), disclosed that it has spent nearly $15 million on the Michigan US Senate race so far, including $9.3 million in support of Stevens and $5.7 million against El-Sayed.

El-Sayed has faced some criticism for how he's spoken about his opponent—he recently said: "Haley Stevens is a suit with a large AIPAC bank account, that’s it. I hope maybe they find some way to teach her how to string together two coherent sentences."

However, he stressed Friday that this tidal wave of big money is what his followers should truly find worthy of scorn.

"Congresswoman Stevens has welcomed corporations and special interests to support her," he said. "She votes to send our money abroad while Michiganders struggle. She’s bought by DTE, Blue Cross, Big Tech, and Big Pharma who pick our pockets. AIPAC, Trump-aligned billionaires, and corporate PACs are spending $50,000,000+ to support her."

"THOSE are the issues," El-Sayed said. "We don’t need to be unkind to be honest."