FOR INSIDERS | Stevens, El-Sayed set for crucial Michigan Senate debate: Key questions

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed are set to square off on Tuesday night in their first one-on-one debate since state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) dropped out of the Senate Democratic primary this weekend. 

McMorrow’s exit has cemented the race into a proxy battle between the moderate and centrist faction, which is backing Stevens, and the progressive, populist wing of the party endorsing El-Sayed.

Recent polling has shown El-Sayed with an edge in the primary. At the same time, tens of millions of dollars are pouring into the race to back Stevens as the two-person primary turns into an existential debate over the direction of the party. 

Here are the key questions ahead of the debate, which will be hosted by NewsNation’s Grand Rapids, Mich. Affiliate WOOD-TV. The debate can be watched on The Hill’s Fash Channel and thehill.com, with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

Who benefits from McMorrow’s exit? 

The key question heading into this debate is whether Stevens or El-Sayed see a surge of momentum after McMorrow’s exit. 

Some of those clues started to emerge over the weekend, with state Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) announcing she would back Stevens. 

“Representative Haley Stevens is a seasoned fighter for Michigan who knows how to work in a difficult environment to get essential policies across the finish line,” Nessel wrote in a statement, noting that the congresswoman has also “won multiple highly competitive races.” 

On Monday, progressive Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-N.J.) announced she would be backing El-Sayed.  

“In the years I’ve worked at the grassroots level, I’ve rarely met someone more committed to building a just and fair world than Abdul El-Sayed,” Mejia said in a statement. 

A number of far-left and progressive Democrats have won contests........

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