Fact check: Abdul El-Sayed, Haley Stevens clash over cash in US Senate debate

Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens go head-to-head in first debate since Mallory McMorrow’s exit from competitive Senate primary
The two Democrats clashed on personal finance disclosure and corporate contributions to political campaigns, among other issues
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will go on to face Republican Mike Rogers in November general election

Money dominated the first head-to-head debate between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens, the two remaining candidates in Michigan’s fiercely competitive US Senate Democratic primary.

Stevens, a sitting member of Congress, sought to paint her opponent as a striving “celebrity” who refuses to disclose his wealth, claiming she’s “the only person running” in the race “who is not a millionaire.”

El-Sayed, meanwhile, repeatedly reminded viewers that Stevens’ campaign is bolstered by corporate campaign cash and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly known by its acronym AIPAC.

“The question is not whether or not you’re a millionaire,” the former public health official said in the Grand Rapids debate hosted by WOOD-TV. “The question is whether or not you are bowing down to billionaires.”

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The race between El-Sayed and Stevens — which narrowed Sunday when state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out — is one of the nation’s most closely-watched primaries as Democrats fight for majority control of Congress and chart the party’s ideological future.

Stevens has garnered support from establishment Democrats, while El-Sayed is a favorite of the progressive movement.

Though the Democratic candidates have said they’d support whoever the nominee is in November, Tuesday’s testy debate appeared to be a precursor of several weeks more of intraparty conflict as voters mail back their ballots or prepare to head to the polls.

Fact check: Stevens calls El-Sayed ‘a millionaire’

In claiming she is the only US Senate candidate who is not a millionaire, Stevens sought to undercut El-Sayed’s message as a fighter for the working class, suggesting he is more focused on “trying to sell a book or a podcast” than “doing the work for the people of Michigan.”

“We do not need a celebrity senator, we need a workhorse,” she said.

Stevens is not a millionaire, according to a financial disclosure report she filed in May showing she is worth no more than $376,998 after taking a mortgage loan from her mother.

Mike Rogers, the only Republican on the ballot in the August primary, is a millionaire. He and his spouse are worth at least $7 million, and perhaps more than $14 million, according to a federal disclosure report filed Monday.

But it’s unclear whether El-Sayed is a millionaire, as Stevens claimed.

The personal financial disclosure report he filed in 2025 shows El-Sayed and his spouse could have been worth between $586,022 and $1.6 million at the time. That uncertainty is due to the nature of the filings, which require candidates to classify their assets based on a range of values.

El-Sayed reported three major assets — a rental property in Ann Arbor, another in Bangalore, India, and a podcast production company — he said could be worth as little as $450,003 or as much as $1 million.

Fact check: Both candidates delayed disclosures

Stevens has also criticized El-Sayed for filing an extension to delay his 2026 personal financial disclosure until after the Aug. 4 primary, which he did in March. The report is now due Aug. 13.

She did not mention that delay in Tuesday’s debate, but El-Sayed brought it up, saying he “took the same extension that the congresswoman took every single year she was in Congress.”

Abdul El-Sayed WOOD-TV debate — Abdul El-Sayed, a favorite among progressives, argued opponent Haley Stevens’ acceptance of political donations from corporations hampers meaningful policy reforms in Congress. (Bryan Esler/WOOD TV8)

While filing requirements are slightly different for US Senate candidates and sitting House members, El-Sayed’s claim appears largely true.

Congressional records show Stevens requested 90-day extensions for her personal financial disclosures each year between 2019 — her first in office — and 2025. She did not seek an extension this year, however.

Fact check: Stevens benefiting from corporate, AIPAC spending

El-Sayed referenced corporate spending at least eight times during the debate while making the case that businesses and outside groups like pro-Israel AIPAC prevent meaningful political reforms that would benefit the public.

El-Sayed noted he’s the only candidate in the race who has “never taken a dime” from corporations, which is true.

Stevens’ Senate campaign has accepted donations from a number of political groups representing corporations, including health care corporation Cigna, kidney dialysis services giant DaVita, BlackRock and Axon Enterprises, a weapons and technology company best known for developing Tasers and body cameras.

Stevens has also benefited immensely from outside groups funding advertisements painting her in a positive light.

The national ad-tracking firm AdImpact’s latest analysis of the Democratic Senate primary found $46.1 million in ad spending and reservations as of July 1, 74% of which supports Stevens.

That includes spending by United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s main political action committee, which reserved $2.3 million in ad space as of early June. AIPAC was also heavily involved in Stevens’ 2022 primary against then-Rep. Andy Levin.

Stevens sought to downplay that outside spending in Tuesday’s debate, saying that anyone supporting her campaign “is doing so because of my proven record of fighting for Michigan.”

“No one owns my vote, and no one owns my policies,” she said.

Fact check: Stevens claims GOP working to ‘prop up’ El-Sayed

In arguing that she is uniquely positioned to win in November, Stevens claimed Republicans are “spending thousands of dollars to prop up (El-Sayed’s) campaign, because they think it will make it easier for Mike Rogers to win.”

El-Sayed countered that recent polling shows he’s the “most electable Democrat” in November because “it’s not enough to offer people two options that kind of look the same on the issues that matter the most.”

Haley Stevens WOOD-TV debate — US Rep. Haley Stevens, who has garnered support among establishment Democrats, said Michigan voters need a “workhorse” and criticized El-Sayed for not publicly releasing his tax returns. (Bryan Esler/WOOD TV8)

Michigan’s open US Senate seat, soon to be vacated by retiring Democrat Gary Peters, is a must-win for the party if they hope to wrest control of the Senate from Republicans. Rogers, a longtime GOP member of Congress who narrowly lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 election, will not make it easy for them.

Republicans certainly aren’t endorsing El-Sayed, but they’ve spent money on primary-season ads calling several of his policy proposals, including Medicare for All, “too radical for Michigan.”

Observers have told Bridge the messaging is an indication Republicans would prefer to take on El-Sayed than Stevens in the general election.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that national Republicans are rooting for El-Sayed, that they see him as a weaker candidate,” Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report told Bridge Michigan Monday. “They feel like they can paint him as more extreme.”

In a Tuesday statement ahead of the debate, Republican National Committee spokesperson Hunter Lovell likened the primary to “a head-on collision between an antisemitic radical socialist and a terrified Democrat establishment.”

Hypothetical general election polls thus far have shown both Stevens and El-Sayed with slight leads against Rogers, who also faces political headwinds as national public support for President Donald Trump craters.

Fact check: El-Sayed claims Stevens voted to ‘thank ICE’

El-Sayed, who has called for abolishing the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, argued Tuesday that Stevens “voted to thank ICE and increase their budget.”

That criticism stems from Stevens’ June 9, 2025 vote on a resolution condemning an antisemitic terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado.

Stevens was one of 75 Democrats to vote for the Republican-sponsored resolution, which included a line indicating the chamber “expresses gratitude to law enforcement officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland.”

Stevens explained the vote Tuesday, arguing El-Sayed was adopting GOP talking points to attack her.

“Instead of bringing us together, Republicans put in a cynical point about thanking ICE,” she said of the resolution. “I am always going to stand up to violence, and I just wish my opponent wouldn’t pursue the cynical approaches of Republicans.”

Fact check: Is Stevens the ‘most effective lawmaker’ for Michigan?

Arguing she is the workhorse Michigan needs in the US Senate, Stevens repeatedly said she had “the receipts” from her work in the House.

“There is a reason why the Center for Effective Lawmaking recognized me as the most effective lawmaker for Michigan in the Congress, because I fight for us, I win for us,” she said.

Stevens is one of five Michigan members of Congress who exceeded expectations for how successfully they moved their agenda items in the 2023-2024 session, according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking, which is a collaboration between the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.

Stevens ranked 12th out of 220 Democrats in Congress for effectiveness that term, which was the highest party ranking for any Michigan member. But three Republicans — Reps. Bill Huizenga, Tim Walberg and Lisa McClain — were rated as more successful at moving their agenda items overall.

Fact check: DTE contributions

Amid a back and forth about power outages, El-Sayed noted people in parts of Michigan are “sleeping in dark rooms without electricity for the fourth straight day.”

“My opponent’s taking $37,500 from DTE,” he continued, returning to his critique of corporate money in politics. “Ask yourself what that buys.”

El-Sayed may have understated DTE Energy’s past support for Stevens, although the company has not donated directly to her Senate campaign.

Federal Election Commission records show DTE’s PAC contributed a combined $35,000 to Stevens’ US House campaigns between 2019 and 2025, along with another $10,000 to a leadership PAC associated with Stevens called the HMS SCRAP PAC.

Stevens noted she introduced a bill in the House last year that would allow federal disaster loans for prolonged power outages affecting more than 25 homes or businesses in a close area. The measure has not advanced.