Michigan Democrat endorses Republican as feud roils key Senate race

{"text":[[{"start":9.4,"text":"Democratic unity appeared to be falling apart in the key Midwestern Senate battleground of Michigan as a feud between progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his moderate former primary rival Haley Stevens spiralled out of control on Sunday."}],[{"start":23.36,"text":"In a move that stunned her fellow Democrats, Stevens endorsed Republican challenger Mike Rogers with just two days to go before the election, switching her support from El-Sayed who defeated her in a bitter contest in August."}],[{"start":36.2,"text":"El-Sayed and Stevens were supposed to attend a joint event on Sunday, but the Democratic congresswoman decided to attend a church service alongside Rogers instead and posted a video about her decision."}],[{"start":46.8,"text":"“I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign,” she said in a video from inside a car. “This the conscience of the Senate right now and our Michigan moment and I’m just letting you know where I am.”"}],[{"start":57.3,"text":"The intraparty tensions in Michigan have boiled over with just days left to maintain solidarity between the Democrats’ ideological factions, as the party looks to deliver a sharp rebuke to US President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":69.74,"text":"In the absence of a single-party leader to enforce discipline, Democrats are relying on individual politicians to support their nominees across the country."}],[{"start":78.32,"text":"During a campaign stop in Iowa, Trump said he would “love to have her” in the Republican Party and added that Rogers was “apple pie”."}],[{"start":84.92,"text":"“We don’t need the communists, the jihadists, the Muslim Brotherhood. We need apple pie,” he said."}],[{"start":91.16,"text":"Trump added to his recent attacks on El-Sayed by saying that if he won the Michigan Senate race “we’ll have to put him through metal detectors in order to seat him”."}],[{"start":99.84,"text":"Michigan is a crucial state for the control of the upper chamber of Congress. Democrats are defending a seat against Rogers, with polls showing an exceedingly tight race."}],[{"start":109.2,"text":"The furore of the past few days erupted after El-Sayed asked Stevens not to attend an event after she criticised him for failing to condemn an ad by his supporters that suggested high grocery prices were driven by US military support for Israel."}],[{"start":122.72,"text":"“I’ve already been clear that that ad was not made by me and I do not agree with the contents of that ad,” El-Sayed told reporters on Saturday."}],[{"start":131.28,"text":"On Sunday, he responded to Stevens’ statement by saying: “This is a state of 10 million people who deserve a lot better from their government. I’m a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about.”"}],[{"start":146.32,"text":"“At the end of the day, I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens,” he added."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":151.16,"text":"Stevens had lashed out at El-Sayed on Friday even as she said she would join him at the event on Sunday, alongside veteran Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn."}],[{"start":159.32,"text":"“A disclaimer is not a condemnation and everyone in my community knows the difference,” she said."}],[{"start":165.64,"text":"“Abdul promises to get money out of politics. He can begin by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford,” she added."}],[{"start":174.68,"text":"Stevens’ endorsement of the Republican contender came after her fiancé Jason Turkish said he was backing Rogers. “We have a nominee who just won’t say this is wrong,” he told Fox News, adding that El-Sayed’s stance puts “Jews at risk”."}],[{"start":189,"text":"Many of Stevens’ staff resigned in protest on Sunday and Democrats accused her of betrayal."}],[{"start":194.08,"text":"“We encourage everyone to exercise their civic duty, vote for Abdul and Democrats up and down the ballot, and stand up for the America we all believe in,” said Stevens’ chief of staff Justin German in his resignation statement."}],[{"start":208.2,"text":"Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer posted on X that Stevens was guilty of a “despicable betrayal”."}],[{"start":213.92,"text":"Elissa Slotkin, the Michigan Democratic senator supporting El-Sayed, called for the party “to be focused on the mission at hand. That mission is to put a check on President Trump in the US House and Senate, and do the hard work of saving the middle class”."}],[{"start":227.92,"text":"“Anyone who makes an election this important about themselves, and not Michiganders and our democracy, should think hard about whether they are serving the greater good,” she said in a swipe at Stevens."}],[{"start":236.56,"text":"Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress, a centre-left think-tank, posted on Sunday that “standing with Mike Rogers is a betrayal of everything Haley Stevens has fought for her entire career. It’s also a betrayal of all of her supporters that believed in her”."}],[{"start":253.92,"text":"She said she wished El-Sayed “a strong victory on Tuesday and that all Democrats and like-minded independents support [and] vote for him”."}],[{"start":262.52,"text":"Democrats are already facing a huge challenge in their effort to win back control of the US Senate on Tuesday, which would require a net gain of four seats in the upper chamber of Congress."}],[{"start":272.6,"text":"The party is eyeing possible victories over Republicans in a series of staunchly conservative states ranging from North Carolina and Texas to Ohio, Alaska and Iowa — a defeat in Michigan would present an even greater hurdle as they would need to flip five seats in order to win the majority."}],[{"start":294.04,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793591801_3810.mp3"}