Michigan Democrat Condemns Senate Rival’s Attacks on Women as Sexist Pattern

Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., leveled accusations of sexism against progressive Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during a CNN appearance Wednesday, pointing to critical comments he made about female rivals as Michigan voters prepare for the state’s Aug. 4 primary election. Scholten specifically cited El-Sayed’s past disparagement of Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, characterizing the rhetoric as distinctly gendered attacks.

In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” Scholten detailed El-Sayed’s criticism of Stevens, recounting that he had suggested the congresswoman “couldn’t string two sentences together” and characterized her as “an empty vessel.” Scholten, who has endorsed Stevens in the race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., distinguished between substantive policy critiques and what she described as personal attacks targeting women’s intelligence and competence rather than their positions on issues.

El-Sayed previously told Semafor that Stevens was “a suit with a large AIPAC account,” further suggesting the pro-Israel lobbying group might instruct her on how to articulate coherent statements. During his unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial campaign against Whitmer, whose father formerly headed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, El-Sayed claimed the governor had been purchased by her father’s company and lacked independent ideas.

El-Sayed’s campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner dismissed the allegations, challenging Scholten to provide specific accusations rather than what she termed “throwaway talking points.” On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, El-Sayed responded to the criticism by stating he did not believe “it’s kind to make fun of somebody for how they talk or how they show up,” while also raising concerns about attacks on his own character.

Scholten expressed additional concern regarding El-Sayed’s campaign appearances with left-wing content creator Hasan Piker, who made controversial remarks in 2019 stating “America deserved 9/11.” Though El-Sayed distanced himself from the statement, he did not rule out future collaboration with Piker, prompting Scholten to declare such associations a “nonstarter” for her support.

When pressed on whether she would back El-Sayed in a general election, Scholten declined to commit, stating she could not associate herself with candidates connected to such rhetoric. She warned that the Democratic Party risked heading in a damaging direction by accepting candidates aligned with such divisive positions and language.

On Friday, El-Sayed’s campaign called on supporters to cease making personal attacks against Stevens, with El-Sayed acknowledging that online mockery of his opponent unrelated to policy positions was “unkind and unhelpful.” He appealed directly to his backers to refrain from such behavior if they supported his candidacy.