At an event last night in Birmingham, Michigan, where Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was campaigning for the Republican hopeful in the Senate race, Mike Rodgers, Cruz said that antisemitism is “a poison that is ripping the country apart” and that the Democratic Party was being taken over by “self-proclaimed communists and Islamists.”
The event, which was sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coaltion, featured several voters who described themselves as lifelong Democrats voting Republican for the first time because of El-Sayed’s comments last year after a man attacked a synagogue in a Detroit suburb. El-Sayed tied the attack to Israel's actions in the Middle East, saying at the time that “hurt people hurt people.” He later attempted to apologize for the statement.
The issue was a focal point in the Democratic primary between El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, whom he narrowly defeated. Stevens has endorsed her former rival, but her fiance Jason Turkish told the Detroit News on Wednesday that he plans to back Rogers because he believes El-Sayed is an antisemite.
Later, Stevens appeared on CNN and said of Turkish’s comments, “Like a households across America, we’re a household divided.”
