When Michigan Democrats nominated Abdul El-Sayed for the U.S. Senate, they made probably the stupidest move imaginable, and with the election just days away, their own leaders are behaving like people who already know how this will end.
It’s no secret that in the primary, the Democrat establishment preferred Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), whom they saw as far more electable in a state that hasn't sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1994. El-Sayed beat her anyway, and the Democrat Party dutifully lined up behind its nominee.
But now we’re getting signs they know this election won’t end well for them.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently sat down with Donny Deutsch on his podcast, On Brand. Deutsch raised El-Sayed and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as examples of politicians who refuse to back Israel as a Jewish state, and he called their views "concerning."
"When you say Israel doesn't have the right to be a Jewish state, that's antisemitic as far as I'm concerned with all that," Deutsch said.
Pelosi went further. "No, it's more than concerning. It's wrong. It's wrong," she replied. "And it isn't a reflection of the Democrats in the Congress of the United States."
She then turned to the two men by name, more or less. "This new person in Michigan, we'll see if he gets elected to the Congress," Pelosi said. "But the mayor, [Zohran Mamdani] bless his heart, I hope he succeeds as mayor, but I don't agree with some of the things he has said."
🚨 Pelosi rips Abdul El-Sayed, says his views on Israel are "more than concerning": “This new person in Michigan, we’ll see if he gets elected.” https://t.co/zRtjdLvfPx
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 30, 2026
Mamdani already holds office, and Pelosi wished him success. El-Sayed is in a race that could decide control of the Senate, and the most she could muster was "we'll see."
That’s rough.
She also urged House Democrats to keep their distance from his kind of rhetoric. The rebuke was mild, but Democrats of Pelosi's generation almost never break ranks this close to an election, which makes even a mild one significant.
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And then there's Stevens. After losing the primary, she endorsed El-Sayed. Now, in the final stretch, she's publicly setting conditions for him. Appearing on CNN Wednesday, Stevens insists she wants him to win, then demanded that he denounce two ads: one he made with Tucker Carlson, and another that blames Israel for the cost of American groceries. His campaign claims it has no connection to the grocery ad. Stevens said many undecided voters were "hurt" and "confused."
"A disclaimer is not a condemnation, and everyone in my community knows the difference," Stevens wrote. She argued the grocery ad simply echoed El-Sayed himself. "But the ad did not invent its argument; it dramatized one Dr. El-Sayed has made in his own words throughout this campaign: that Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care, and child care," she said.
Stevens also wants an apology. "The standard here is simple. If those words are wrong when a Political Action Committee supporting his campaign says them, then they are equally wrong when Abdul says them, and Abdul has said them from the start," she said. "I therefore expect him to apologize for those statements as well."
She's still scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed on Sunday, alongside Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), at a black church. Stevens said she agreed after hearing from "Democrat leaders and emissaries" that El-Sayed would finally condemn the grocery ad, though she urged voters and reporters to confirm that with him directly. She also called his Carlson ad "an insult to the congregation that will welcome us on Sunday." Meanwhile, her fiancé, Jason Turkish, has switched his support to Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
Stevens is clearly playing a dual role. She needs to get credit for being a team player while making sure nobody mistakes her support for an endorsement of everything El-Sayed has said. If he loses, she has a public record of warning him. If she runs again, the base can't call her disloyal.
Here's why all of this points toward an anticipated loss. Party leaders who expect to win swallow their complaints until the polls close, because they'll need the new senator's vote for the next six years. Pelosi has spent decades counting votes, and she knows better than anyone that you don't kneecap a future colleague in a race for the majority. Stevens knows it too. Both are acting like the outcome is already baked into the cake, and are positioning themselves accordingly.
