Political fault line over Israel comes into full view during Michigan Democrats’ convention

Tensions in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat were on full display during the Michigan Democratic Party’s spring convention in Detroit over the weekend.

Polls show the race between U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed continues to be a dead heat, with each candidate drawing nearly equal levels of support.

But that polling symmetry was not evident when Stevens took the stage Sunday and was loudly booed, speaking over continued heckling shouted from throughout the convention hall, much of which focused on her support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, which Amnesty International and a United Nations panel have called a genocide against the Palestinian people.

@michiganadvance U.S. Senate candidate Haley Stevens received a less-than-welcoming greeting from delegates at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit. #haleystevens ♬ original sound – Michigan Advance

“Democrats, I love you, even when we disagree,” Stevens said as audience members in the front row shouted “shame.”

McMorrow did not face the same backlash, but did garner some scattered chants of “Abdul” as she exited the stage.

Nearly every candidate endorsed by the Michigan Democratic Party Progressive Caucus won their races Sunday, meaning it may have been a particularly tough crowd for candidates viewed as moderate.

But McMorrow sought out a tough crowd earlier in the day, stopping by the Arab American Democrats caucus meeting, even though they had endorsed El-Sayed in the Aug. 4 primary.

One attendee shouted out about not taking donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, more commonly referred to as AIPAC. McMorrow clarified that she already doesn’t take AIPAC donations, but is supported by J Street, which she said “is an organization that supports ending the occupation, that supports ending the bombing, that supports ending the violence.”

McMorrow told the voter that “this is part of the democratic process” and said she is happy to sit down any time.

Between caucus meetings, McMorrow danced through the halls of Huntington Place with a band playing drums.

U.S. Senate candidate @MalloryMcMorrow is traversing the MDP Endorsement Convention caucus meetings with a band this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/fn4HMwgAS9

— Andrew Roth (@RothTheReporter) April 19, 2026

At one point, her drumline arrived in front of a room where El-Sayed was about to host a media availability.

El-Sayed was quick to quip that “that’s what you get when you don’t have a message.”

Some social media users quickly resurfaced a video from El-Sayed’s 2018 campaign for governor, in which he sees now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer walking with a marching band and says he won’t move out of the way.

Whitmer went on to win all 83 counties in that primary.

El-Sayed told delegates Sunday that after President Donald Trump was elected to his first term, you either had to go big or go home.

“I went big and then I went home,” El-Sayed joked.

Michigan Democratic Party donors heard from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear the night before about how to win tough elections. Among his suggestions: “Talk like a normal human.”

El-Sayed agreed that you should use plain language, but said there is a deeper substance problem.

“I would add a proviso, which is to say that you got to be talking about things that people actually care about. You got to be answering the questions people are asking,” El-Sayed said.

Stevens did not have an entourage as large or as loud as some Democratic candidates, but described her style of campaigning as “really hands-on, really grassroots.”

Stevens responded to a TIME report that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has started signaling a willingness to support McMorrow, who has vowed to not vote for Schumer as Senate leader in the future.

But Stevens said Sunday she was still the best candidate to beat the presumptive Republican nominee, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake).

“Nothing’s changing for Haley Stevens as I campaign for Michigan’s future,” Stevens said.