Haley Stevens

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Story Is,” Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) responded to a question on what she’d say to former supporters of hers who can’t support Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed because they are worried about Israel’s future by saying that “people are going to have to make a personal and private decision.”

Host Elex Michaelson asked, “Abdul El-Sayed has joked that he would be the most dangerous candidate for the U.S.-Israeli relationship. He has not said, definitively, that Israel should exist as a Jewish state. What do you say to your supporters who say, I could never support El-Sayed because I’m concerned about the future of the state of Israel?”

Stevens answered, “Well, look, I think people are going to have to make a personal and private decision. Michigan is a big state. New coalitions are coming forward. And I’m going to do my work as a Democratic leader, now on the outside. I’ll be retiring from the House at the end of the year, eight years of awesome elected service on behalf of the state I love, alongside a whole host of incredible Democrats. We all love this country. And the big difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party is that we do have a big tent, and, look, the beauty is, is we have elections, people participate in them. There was a — tons of votes counted for Democrats on Tuesday.”