Abdul El-Sayed had just finished his stump speech, complete with jokes about his name and exhortations to “show just how big we are” by turning out voters on Election Day. Then he walked into a room full of reporters wanting to ask about the one topic he wished not to discuss.
Representative Haley Stevens.
The first question came from a local reporter, who asked if Dr. El-Sayed believed Ms. Stevens, the congresswoman he defeated in the Senate primary who has been on a media tour criticizing his views on Israel, was trying to damage his campaign.
“That is not a question for me,” Dr. El-Sayed said, with a laugh that seemed to be a response to the crude term, including the word “rat,” that the questioner used to describe political sabotage.
The next question: Would Dr. El-Sayed do as Ms. Stevens demanded and disavow an online advertisement produced by one of Dr. El-Sayed’s allies blaming U.S. policy toward Israel for the price of groceries and health care?
Dr. El-Sayed was no longer amused.
“I’ve already been clear that that ad was not made by me, and I do not agree with the contents of that ad,” he said.
He did not wish to talk more about Ms. Stevens. If the next question was about her or the ad she wished he’d disavow, Dr. El-Sayed said he would stop taking questions and walk out.
Throughout the 12 minutes he spoke with reporters, Dr. El-Sayed never said Ms. Stevens’s name. Once he referred to her as “the congresswoman.”
He fielded a few questions about the Detroit church service he planned to attend Sunday with Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina and his Republican opponent, former Representative Mike Rogers.
But soon he got back to Ms. Stevens.
Why, he was asked, shouldn’t he address the issues she raised, which are also of concern to some Michigan voters? Dr. El-Sayed said the primary was over.
“We had a primary, right? And the outcomes of the primary are what they were,” he said. “I understand that some folks are upset about that. I get it. But I’m here trying to beat Mike Rogers.”
Then: Did he still want Ms. Stevens to come to church with him Sunday, as his campaign first alerted Thursday and as she said Friday that she would?
Dr. El-Sayed said he did not want “distractions.” Ms. Stevens, he said, “wanted to talk about other things” beyond his campaign’s core themes.
Translation: She wants to talk about Israel and he does not.
Finally, Dr. El-Sayed was asked a version of the first question. Had Ms. Stevens hurt the Democratic ticket by speaking out against his campaign?
He said she does not matter, and that he does not think much about her.
“It’s not really of relevance to Michigan voters. Most people don’t care about this,” he said. “I just don’t spend much of my time thinking about these sort of personality issues. Like, I have much respect to the congresswoman. We had a hard-fought primary. That primary ended in August. I’m focused now on beating Mike Rogers.”
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