Jason Turkish, fiancé of Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, has intensified a dispute with Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate challenging Stevens’ preferred candidate for a Michigan Senate seat. Turkish appeared on Fox News to address a controversial ad that suggests Israel is responsible for higher prices impacting Michigan families.
"You know, we spend only a ‘few billion dollars a year,’ and I say that in quotes, on support for a very strategic ally in the Middle East,” Turkish stated. “If we choose not to do that tomorrow, that’s not enough money to solve hunger in America, or healthcare in America, or rebuild our schools in America. But yet, Abdul tells folks that that’s what stands in our way, and it puts Jews at risk.”
Stevens' Fiancé Escalates Dispute with El-Sayed
Turkish, who has donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates, announced he would vote for the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Mike Rogers, a decision that contrasts with his fiancée’s endorsement of El-Sayed. Stevens reaffirmed her support for El-Sayed in an interview published Saturday, though she declined to state whether she wanted him to win.
Stevens had previously called on El-Sayed to disavow an advertisement from Rebellion PAC, which she claimed suggests “Jews are responsible for America’s economic woes.” The ad, according to Stevens, implies that “Michigan families cannot afford groceries because their money has to be set aside for ‘killing Palestinians,’ and it blames our close ally Israel for everything Michiganders cannot afford.”
El-Sayed’s campaign stated that no one speaks for him but himself and his campaign. However, Stevens also called for El-Sayed to remove another ad featuring commentator Tucker Carlson. El-Sayed subsequently told Stevens to avoid further campaign events, with a source confirming to HuffPost that El-Sayed accused Stevens of attempting to “relitigate” primary tensions.
In his Fox News appearance, Turkish defended Stevens, stating she wanted to “show up for my party, for my country” while expressing concerns about the ad. He further elaborated on his anxieties in an interview with The New York Times, saying, “He is so unwelcoming to people who have reasonable anxieties about Jews being scapegoated once again, as they have been for thousands of years, that the idea that he will steer not just U.S. policy, but foreign policy globally, it makes me extremely, extremely anxious.”