The Michigan Democratic Party is set to finalize its slate of candidates for the November general election during a convention this weekend. The gathering comes as internal divisions continue to threaten party unity with at least one Democratic leader refusing to attend.
MIRS editor Kyle Melinn says this convention is typically a formality with statewide candidates already set through primaries and a previous convention earlier this year, so the focus will be on something more existential.
"I think what the Democratic Party sees this convention as being is something to rally their party members around a common message, to find those things that Democrats agree on, as opposed to those things the Democratic Party disagrees on," he said.
He expects affordability to take center stage, including pushback on tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump, but it might be an uphill battle on other issues.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said last month she would not be in attendance because of what she feels is rising antisemitism within her party.
That issue became a political flashpoint this week with multiple high-profile Democrats, including some in Michigan, condemning online streamer and progressive political commentator Hasan Piker for comments he made that they view as antisemitic. During a livestream, Piker spoke on the potential backlash American Jews might experience as a result of pro-Israel rhetoric.
"If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker said in a recent livestream.
Michigan politicians like U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin and U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten have spoken out against the remarks. Piker has argued his comments were not meant as a threat but as a warning against potential violence.
Piker campaigned with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during his primary race against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. El-Sayed, for his part, has partially distanced himself from Piker in recent days.
"I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate for what they believe without fear of violence,” El-Sayed said in a statement posted to social media Monday. “This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past.”
"Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms” he continued. “Nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”
The focus on Piker has frustrated other Democrats who are trying to move their party forward. That includes U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who campaigned with El-Sayed Wednesday.
“I am done. So don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker. It’s not what November is about,” Dingell said.
Melinn said it's likely if these divisions aren't resolved, they'll continue to cause problems for Democrats up to Election Day.
"You know that the Republicans aren't going to back down from it," Melinn said. "The Republicans are going to try and make this a front burner issue because that's really, I think, their best shot to win in November."
There are also concerns that there will be a repeat of the party's raucous April convention where some candidates were booed and jeered at by audience members. Melinn says state party chair Curtis Hertel wants things done differently.
"Hertel and the party have sent word out to everybody that we will not have that at this convention," Mellin said.
"Law enforcement officers will be on site, entrances are going to be screened, security personnel will be stationed all over the place, and any disruptive behavior or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated," Melinn said. "And that if anybody is found to have violated a code of conduct, they're going to get bounced from the convention, and their Democratic ticket will be revoked."
The convention will take place at the Lansing Center on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Interview Highlights
On what will happen at the convention
This is very perfunctory. At this convention is where the Democrats finalize their ticket per state law, so they will nominate Winnie Brinks as the running mate for Jocelyn Benson, the gubernatorial nominee, and also take care of the rest of the ticket that was decided at the endorsement convention that happened earlier this year. What I guess, functionally, I think what the Democratic Party sees this convention as being is something to rally their party members around a common message to find those things that Democrats agree on, as opposed to those things the Democratic Party disagrees on. So things like tariffs, which they've already started messaging on this week, the affordability, the One Big Beautiful Bill and the impact on health insurance and the price of health coverage.
On the discord at the April convention Democrats held
The endorsement convention was an opportunity for the far left of the Democratic Party to really flex its muscle, and it did. It nominated the more progressive candidates in almost every single case; for attorney general, for secretary of state, for the University of Michigan Board of Regents ... And what we saw was that this enthusiasm by the progressives overflowed into a bit of verbal hostility. You saw Haley Stevens get booed. You saw when Mallory McMorrow, who was running for the U.S. Senate at the time, finished her speech, supporters for Abdul El-Sayed kept chanting his name, even though she was the one who was speaking.
On preparations to keep things calm this time
This time, Curtis Hertel and the party have sent word out to everybody that we will not have that at this convention. That law enforcement officers will be on site, entrances are going to be screened, security personnel will be stationed all over the place, and any disruptive behavior or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. And that if anybody is found to have violated a code of conduct, they're going to get bounced from the convention, and their Democratic ticket will be revoked.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: The Michigan Democratic Party is set to meet in a convention this weekend to finalize its slate of candidates.
The gathering comes as internal divisions continue to threaten party unity, and at least one Democratic leader is refusing to attend.
Kyle Melinn is the editor of MIRS, and he joins me now. Thank you for being here.
Kyle Melinn: My pleasure, Sophia.
Saliby: What's expected to happen at this convention? It seems to be more of a formality than the convention in the spring when the party chose nominees for secretary of state and attorney general.
Melinn: Yeah, this is very perfunctory. At this convention is where the Democrats finalize their ticket per state law, so they will nominate Winnie Brinks as the running mate for Jocelyn Benson, the gubernatorial nominee, and also take care of the rest of the ticket that was decided at the endorsement convention that happened earlier this year.
What I guess, functionally, I think what the Democratic Party sees this convention as being is something to rally their party members around a common message to find those things that Democrats agree on, as opposed to those things the Democratic Party disagrees on.
So things like tariffs, which they've already started messaging on this week, the affordability, the One Big Beautiful Bill and the impact on health insurance and the price of health coverage; these are the types of things that they want to focus on to take the focus away from the Hasan Piker, the Jewish/Muslim tensions within the party and the progressive establishment tensions that we saw kind of play out in the primary.
Saliby: There was some drama at the endorsement convention in the spring. Could you catch us up on what happened there? Because it really didn't feel as quiet as usual.
Melinn: No, it didn't. The endorsement convention was an opportunity for the far left of the Democratic Party to really flex its muscle, and it did. It nominated the more progressive candidates in almost every single case; for attorney general, for secretary of state, for the University of Michigan Board of Regents. They nominated people that were not the pick of maybe necessarily organized labor or the teachers union, who typically are the ones who make the decisions or whose influence has an enormous sway on who ends up getting nominated.
And what we saw was that this enthusiasm by the progressives overflowed into a bit of verbal hostility. You saw Haley Stevens get booed. You saw when Mallory McMorrow, who was running for the U.S. Senate at the time, finished her speech, supporters for Abdul El-Sayed kept chanting his name, even though she was the one who was speaking. There was some real tension regarding Jordan Acker, who is a University of Michigan regent who was looking for re-nomination and ended up not getting it. People were yelling profanities at him, Curtis Hertel, the chair of the party.
And this time, Curtis Hertel and the party have sent word out to everybody that we will not have that at this convention. That law enforcement officers will be on site, entrances are going to be screened, security personnel will be stationed all over the place, and any disruptive behavior or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. And that if anybody is found to have violated a code of conduct, they're going to get bounced from the convention, and their Democratic ticket will be revoked.
Saliby: Attorney General Dana Nessel has said she doesn't plan to attend this convention this weekend because she feels like she wouldn't be welcome amid what she says is rising antisemitism within the party. Can you briefly explain what she's talking about?
Melinn: Yeah, I mean, there is a underlying, and in some cases, kind of overt tension in the Democratic Party with the progressives who feel like the folks who are Jewish are aligned with the Israeli actions in the Gaza strip, and that what they feel is a genocide that is happening in Gaza against the Palestinians is something that should be of number one concern to folks in the party, and that anybody who disagrees with them should get shouted down.
And that's the tension that Dana Nessel, who happens to be Jewish, is referring to, and it's something that manifested itself just this past week, where we had the streamer Hasan Piker basically call out Jewish folks in Michigan and say that basically you got to watch your own back, that the tension that we're seeing in Israel and Gaza is splashing over into the United States and basically threatening them to shut up and to not make a fuss.
And that's caused some problems for Abdul El-Sayed, whose coalition of votes that he needs to be successful in the U.S. Senate race with Mike Rogers is pretty tenuous. I mean, he's actually going after Republicans to try and get votes at this point, like super right conservative Republicans he's going after because Jewish folks don't trust him, just flat out. They just don't trust them.
And so, you're seeing now Jeremy Moss, who is running for Congress in Southeast Michigan, who also happens to be Jewish, having longer conversations with Abdul El-Sayed about how the two can work together to try and find some common ground and maybe kind of create a common message that the two can use, because at least in Southeast Michigan, the two are going to be on the ballot next to each other. And I know that from listening to Jeremy Moss in the past, he's not comfortable with the rhetoric of Abdul El-Sayed. He doesn't like the fact that Abdul and Hasan Piker have been at events that Abdul has invited Hasan Piker to, his celebration party after the primary, and at a rally, at least one at Michigan State.
That's unsettling to Jeremy Moss and other Jewish folk, and so, to the extent that they can try and find something that they can unify behind and, you know, and campaign with would be a huge step. I mean, to hear Jeremy Moss say "Yes, I endorse Abdul El-Sayed," would be a pretty big statement if it were to happen. But they're not there yet.
Saliby: Is there anything else you're going to be watching out for other than all of this drama?
Melinn: Yeah, unfortunately, I mean that's really where the tension is in the Democratic Party right now. Can they be civil? Can they find that unifying message and stick to it and try and avoid the distractions of Hasan Piker?
Because you know that the Republicans aren't going to back down from it. The Republicans are going to try and make this a front burner issue because that's really, I think, their best shot to win in November.
Saliby: Kyle Melinn is the editor of MIRS. Thank you for joining us.
Melinn: You bet.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
