RAINING CASH

Dem Raises Bonkers Amount After Rival’s MAGA Betrayal

Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has received a big funding boost after Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed his MAGA opponent.

Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign raised more than a million dollars in the wake of Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’ sudden defection to his MAGA opponent’s camp.

On Sunday afternoon, Stevens, 46, shocked the political establishment with a video endorsement of former Rep. Mike Rogers, 63, who she previously called a “rubber stamp” for the Trump administration’s agenda.

In just an afternoon, the El-Sayed campaign has received over $1.2 million in contributions from voters, according to a new Politico report.

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It is El-Sayed’s second best day of campaign donations since he beat Stevens in the August primary, which totaled $2.4 million. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

Many Democrat officials lambasted the primary loser through Sunday, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling Stevens’ actions a “despicable betrayal” of the party and its chances to retake the Senate.

The Democratic National Committee produced a joint fundraising email with El-Sayed, 42, that implied Stevens wanted the race “to be about politicians” rather than voters, according to Politico.

The DNC–headed by Ken Martin–also released a statement calling Stevens’ endorsement “a betrayal of the values of the Democratic Party.”

“At a moment when Democrats are united in fighting for Michigan families and standing up to Trump’s agenda, we reject these efforts to sow division within our party,” Martin wrote. “We will not allow last-minute political stunts to derail our momentum and we will triple down on our efforts to elect Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday.”

The quarrel between the former primary opponents began with an online ad from Rebellion PAC, which was unaffiliated with the El-Sayed campaign. The ad depicts a couple attributing the rising prices of groceries to continued military funding for the state of Israel.

Stevens publicly called on El-Sayed to condemn the Rebellion PAC on Saturday. He, however, opted to distance himself from the ad and its content in front of a gaggle of reporters but claimed, “I do not agree with the contents.”

In light of the call, El-Sayed said that he did not want Stevens to attend a party unity event planned for Sunday if the disagreement would serve as a “distraction” from the race. A day later, Stevens opted to campaign with the candidate she previously called “the worst kind of politician.”

El-Sayed later responded with a freezing cold-shoulder, saying in front of a press gaggle that he “doesn’t think of Haley Stevens,” and would rather focus on the race at-hand.

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Since she posted her endorsement of Rogers, several members of Stevens’ staff have resigned and her colleagues in the House of Representatives have made calls for her to be kicked out of her caucuses.

El-Sayed, however, has remained focused on driving home his messages of affordability and universal healthcare before the election on Tuesday.

“I will not be distracted,” he wrote in his joint fundraising email with the DNC.

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Christopher Buchanan

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