Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, wants Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens to keep away from his campaign events, telling reporters after a rally that he did not want distractions because other people were trying to make the race about things it is not about. "I don't want any distractions," he said, according to the New York Times.

A cancelled joint appearance

The split became public over an appearance that never happened. El-Sayed and Stevens had planned to appear together on Sunday at a church service in Detroit, but the joint moment was called off. Representative Debbie Dingell told CNN she had spoken to Stevens and told her "This isn't working." She added that the tensions between the two were a distraction and that "there's nothing to be gained by the two of them being in the same place."

Why El-Sayed wants distance

In a statement, El-Sayed accused Stevens of being "intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago," and noted that AIPAC spent heavily to defeat him in that primary. He urged a focus instead on "beating Mike Rogers, holding Trump accountable, and getting money out of politics, putting money in pockets, and passing Medicare for All."

The weeks of friction behind the split

The disinvitation follows weeks of open hostility between the two Democrats:

• •El-Sayed defeated Stevens in a bitter primary in August, and Stevens endorsed him shortly after.
• •Stevens had until now avoided appearing publicly with her former opponent, whom she has criticized publicly for weeks.
• •Her fiance, Jason Turkish, has campaigned on behalf of Republican candidate Mike Rogers.
• •Two days before the planned church appearance, Stevens demanded that El-Sayed denounce an outside group's political ad that blamed higher prices on US support for Israel's war in Gaza.

Democrats react

Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow told CNN on Friday: "I have no idea what the hell Haley Stevens is doing." She said voters were not talking about ads but about the price of gas and groceries.

Democrats see the tight Michigan senate race as a must-win to retake control of the Senate, and the feuding has cast the party's tensions into the spotlight in one of its most consequential contests.