Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) says the fight over Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat has become the ugliest campaign she has ever witnessed, warning that both antisemitism and anti-Arab hostility have surged as Election Day approaches.
Dingell, who represents Ann Arbor and holds a significant Jewish constituency there, made the comments Monday on CNN’s “The Lead” when host Jake Tapper pressed her on whether Jewish voters have legitimate concerns about Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, including his past associations with commentator Hasan Piker and his campaign’s use of Tucker Carlson in an ad.
Tapper noted that Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) had raised similar worries over the weekend and asked Dingell, setting Stevens aside, whether those concerns reflect something real among Democratic voters.
“So, Jake, I want to say, the campaign season in Michigan has, without fail, been the most disgusting, vile, hateful one I have ever seen,” Dingell said.
She added that the ad featuring Carlson “was never” aired on television and only circulated online, while saying she has personally seen “other horrible, horrific ads” during the race.
Dingell said she has a “significant community” of Jewish constituents in her Ann Arbor-area district and that “the rise of antisemitism is real, because of this hate.” But she said hostility has cut in more than one direction, pointing to “very hateful ads targeted at the Arab American community and the Muslim community.”
She said she has met with leaders from both communities in recent days, including a lunch on Saturday with a group of Arab American leaders.
“They clearly want to see Abdul win, but they’re scared about what’s going to happen. They are afraid of violence if he wins tomorrow,” Dingell said.
Dingell said she has also spoken with interfaith leaders and with a Republican colleague from Michigan who called her “concerned about some of the hate too,” and that the two agreed the state needs to “dial down the tone” and “dial down the hate towards everybody.”
“The hate is real. The fear of violence in community is real. And we’ve got to stand up to hate wherever and whenever we see it, and that’s one of my lessons coming out of this campaign, we’ve got to find a way to do it,” Dingell said.
