Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed faced a contentious moment in Monday's televised debate when confronted over inflammatory comments he made in a private Zoom call, pivoting quickly to blame a fellow Democrat rather than accept responsibility for the divisive rhetoric.
The moderator pressed El-Sayed on leaked audio in which he suggested progressives should "put one ogre on a pike" to send a message to others. The comment had drawn swift backlash from prominent Democrats, and the debate moderator asked directly whether he regretted his words.
Instead of apologizing, El-Sayed identified the target of his barb as U.S. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. He accused the Democrat of winning office on a progressive platform before abandoning those values, particularly on Israel policy. Fetterman has recently suggested he would leave the Democratic Party if it becomes what he views as anti-Israel.
"I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman, who's a senator from Pennsylvania who has done terrible things, got elected on a set of values, and is now completely throwing those values in the mud," El-Sayed said.
His opponent in the primary, establishment-backed Haley Stevens, appeared to accept the explanation with a quip. "Thank you for clarifying that you didn't call me an ogre," she said.
The deflection underscores the sharp ideological divide that has defined Michigan's August primary to replace retiring Senator Gary Peters. Stevens has positioned herself as a moderate backed by the party establishment and Israel advocates, while El-Sayed has rallied the progressive wing with endorsements from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The two candidates have squared off most visibly over Israel. Stevens calls herself a "proud pro-Israel Democrat" and has secured substantial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. El-Sayed has labeled Israel's Gaza campaign a "genocide" and opposes U.S. military aid to the country.
Last week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Stevens, a particularly stinging blow to El-Sayed, who lost his 2018 gubernatorial primary challenge to Whitmer. That endorsement crystallized the split within the state party between institutional power brokers and grass-roots progressive energy.
The primary has taken on outsized national importance. Republicans view Michigan as one of their best opportunities to flip a Senate seat, especially after Donald Trump's 2024 victory in the state. Former Congressman Mike Rogers cleared the Republican field early and has spent months preparing for a general election matchup, appearing alongside Trump at a rally in Milford on Monday.
When asked whether he considers himself a progressive or democratic socialist, El-Sayed sidestepped the label. "I'm not a socialist," he said. "I'm just a capitalist who understands how capitalism works. The biggest threat to capitalism was never the idea of government regulation. It was always monopoly."
El-Sayed also tried to rebut accusations of incivility by pointing to his earlier criticism of supporters who mocked Stevens' accent. The maneuver suggested he is aware the "ogre" comments damaged his standing, even if he refused to directly apologize for them.
Author James Rodriguez: "El-Sayed's attempt to reframe his brutal language as criticism of Fetterman felt like a dodge, not a genuine answer to why progressives would invoke such violent rhetoric in a closed-door call."
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