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State Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed
Some tension is brewing in the Democratic U.S. Senate race in Michigan between progressive candidates Abdul El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
Punchbowl News reports that El-Sayed complained during a private organizing call last week that Democratic primary opponent McMorrow “copies my homework, just poorly” on key issue positions.
“The other opponent waits until I take a position and then takes a halfway position, like two months later,” El-Sayed, referencing McMorrow, said on a Feb. 4 private call, according to Punchline. “So some of us lead, and some of us follow, and I guess some of us get out the way.”
El-Sayed has accused McMorrow of copying his policy proposals on issues such as regulating data centers and ICE.
The two candidates are in a three-way race that includes moderate Democratic Congress member Haley Stevens. El-Sayed and McMorrow are fighting over the progressive vote.
McMorrow spokesperson Hannah Lindow responded to Punchbowl, touting the state senator’s record of pushing to raise the minimum wage, passing universal pre-K, and repealing anti-union laws.
“She doesn’t need to be lectured to by Abdul El-Sayed or anyone else about what to believe,” Lindow said. “Voters can decide for themselves whose record shows leadership.”
