Schumer picks a side in bruising Michigan Senate Democratic contest
Melissa Nann BurkeWashington ― Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer publicly said Tuesday that he's backing four-term U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the bruising Michigan primary for U.S. Senate over her rivals, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and physician Abdul El-Sayed.
"In Michigan, I'm supporting Haley Stevens," Schumer said simply during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol.
The New York Democrat didn't elaborate, but the statement was hardly a revelation after months of reports that Schumer and the national Democrats have been privately pulling for Stevens and urging donors to help boost her bid, seeing her as the strongest candidate to beat Republican Mike Rogers.
Schumer's statement follows a major endorsement by the United Autoworkers for El-Sayed earlier this month.
Stevens, a Birmingham Democrat, has declined to say publicly whether she would support Schumer to lead Senate Democrats if she's elected, calling it "inside baseball."
"That kind of stuff we'll deal with when I get there," she told CNN in April.
Her rivals, however, haven't held back. McMorrow wants a new generation to step up and has publicly said she wouldn't support Schumer for leader since the first week of her campaign.
Last year, El-Sayed had not ruled out supporting Schumer, but he now says he wants to see Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen as the Senate Democrats' leader, while criticizing Schumer over his support for providing aid to Israel.
"Up until a few weeks ago, Schumer had made clear that he would be ok with either Stevens or McMorrow as Michigan’s next senator. Now, as Abdul surges and the McMorrow campaign sunsets, the battle lines have emerged clearly and Schumer has sided accordingly," El-Sayed spokeswoman Roxie Richner said in a statement.
"This race is between huge corporations, AIPAC, and Chuck Schumer vs Abdul, the UAW, Bernie Sanders, National Nurses United, and working people across the state."
McMorrow, a Royal Oak Democrat, has also slammed Schumer's support for Stevens, pointing to reports that he's helping to recruit dark-money groups to spend on her behalf in the primary.
“People are tired of the same old politics-as-usual that got us into this mess, and they certainly don’t want the party deciding their nominee for them," McMorrow said in a statement last week.
"We need new leaders in the U.S. Senate who know how to fight, win, and deliver. I’m the only one in this race with the track record of doing all three, and I look forward to winning Michiganders’ nomination the right way, by earning it.”
The three Michigan Democrats are vying to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who opted not to seek a third term. The winner of the primary is expected to face presumptive GOP nominee Rogers in the fall election.
The contest is gearing up to rank among the most expensive and competitive of the midterm election season.