▶ Watch Video: Rep. Haley Stevens on Israel, the Democratic Party and PAC money
Protesters outside an event in Grand Rapids for Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens were registering their concern about the tens of millions of dollars spent on her Senate campaign by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliated groups on Monday, the day before the Michigan primaries. CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe asked her about it and she was quick to deflect and argue that donations were a reflection of the strong support she’s getting from Democrats.
She claimed, “Every single poll shows I’m the best one to go beat Mike Rogers,” who is running unopposed for the Republican nomination. She went on to say, “Our system needs to evolve. I want to end dark money in politics.”
“But you’re the beneficiary of it,” O’Keefe pointed out. Again, Stevens brought up Rogers: “He’s got a $45 million PAC waiting for him, supported by Donald Trump. He has sold us out to opioid manufacturers and China, left and right.”
So far, about $80 million has been spent on the Michigan Senate race, making it one of the most expensive in the country. And $60 million of it has been spent on Stevens’ behalf.
O’Keefe noted that the pro-Israel AIPAC is one of the major groups spending on Stevens’ campaign. “You’re someone who’s voted for continuing military aid to Israel at a time when that’s not as popular a stand as it once was,” O’Keefe said before asking, “Why is continuing to support Israel’s military important?”
“You get two different views here in this primary, right? I want a two-state solution,” Stevens said. “I want long-term peace. I’ve called out (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. He’s attacked me by name. He has failed in the goal of getting us to long-term peace.”
Stevens then went after her opponent in Tuesday’s primary, progressive populist Abdul El-Sayed.
“He equivocates. He will not recognize Israel’s right to exist as a state,” Stevens asserted.
El-Sayed has criticized U.S. aid to Israel and has called Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide.” He has criticized Stevens for taking donations from AIPAC.
But Stevens told O’Keefe she is “trying to make sure that we’ve got peace and that we’ve got dignity for people in Palestine and in Israel.
She also suggested that El-Sayed might not be around for the long haul, if he were to win the primary and the election.
“This is six years of hard, unglamorous work that I’m signing up for,” Stevens said. “I’m Michigan’s workhorse. That’s what I want to be. My opponent, he’s already got his website for president.”
El-Sayed has been leading Stevens in the polls by double digits for the last two weeks, and she seemed aware that she’s behind: “I think I’m the proven fighter who’s meeting the moment. Look, I might be the underdog in this race. That’s OK with me.”