McMorrow Quits Senate Race

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow said Sunday she's suspending her US Senate campaign, remaking the August primary into a showdown between US Rep. Haley Stevens and former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed in a state that Democrats see as crucial to winning back the Senate. McMorrow, who rose to prominence with a viral 2022 floor speech defending LGBTQ+ youth, had run as a combative progressive willing to buck Democratic leadership, even promising not to support Sen. Chuck Schumer remaining the party's Senate leader. But as the race increasingly centered on Israel, McMorrow struggled for space between El-Sayed, who has highlighted his support for Palestinian rights, and Stevens, who brands herself a "proud pro-Israel Democrat" backed by AIPAC, Axios reports.

McMorrow declined to endorse either rival but pledged to support the eventual nominee. El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health official, quickly cast the new two-person contest as a test of whether AIPAC, corporate interests, and Schumer will shape the outcome, while Stevens said she's eager to make her case as the strongest Democrat to face likely Republican nominee Mike Rogers. Schumer indeed is backing Stevens, per the New York Times, and El-Sayed has the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.