LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Democrats gathered in Lansing Saturday with a simple message after a bruising primary: everybody get along. That message was repeated early and often at the Michigan Democratic Party convention, where candidates urged activists to put their differences aside and focus on defeating Republicans in November. The unity campaign, however, came with a fairly significant complication: Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, stayed home because she said she did not feel safe attending her own party’s convention.

All Together Now

“We have got to be united because of what we face in this country,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel told delegates at the convention.

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Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson offered a similar assessment, saying to reporters after the convention, “We are united around our vision of lowering costs to the people of Michigan, of fighting corruption, of ensuring that we have people-driven leaders. We’re all singing the same song, all talking about the same thing.”

But some members of the choir might be working from different sheet music. According to a report from Bridge Michigan, Benson and Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed never appeared together on stage and did not mention each other by name during their speeches.

Additionally, outgoing Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and sitting Democratic members of Congress were also notably absent.

Nessel’s Absence Hangs Over Convention

But it was Nessel’s absence and the reason for it that was hard to overlook. The Democratic attorney general announced before the convention that she would not attend because of harassment and safety concerns. She has also accused her party of failing to adequately confront antisemitism and recently said to The Atlantic that she has begun to perceive “an enormous amount of anti-Semitism within the Democratic Party.”

In response to Nessel’s accusations, Derrick Honeyman, a spokesperson for the Michigan Democratic Party, had said the party rejects antisemitism, Islamophobia and other hateful conduct and promised a safe and secure convention.

Questions for El-Sayed

El-Sayed, meanwhile, faced questions Saturday about his association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker and his tensions with Jewish Democrats. When talking with reporters, he apologized for saying “hurt people hurt people” after the March attack on Temple Israel, acknowledging it “wasn’t the time for context,” and urged Democrats to move forward. “This election is not about the past. This election is about the future,” he said, later turning his focus on Trump and telling a reporter that the sitting president is an “asshole.”

Republicans Aren’t Buying the Group Hug

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Republicans were happy to point out the awkwardness at the convention. Michigan GOP Chair Jim Runestad said the “uneasiness and discomfort” among Democrats was “on full display.” The Michigan Republican Party also blasted El-Sayed, arguing Democrats were leaving Lansing with an extremist as the face of their party.

Michigan Republican Party Senior Communications Advisor Greg Manz released the following statement: “Michigan Democrats are leaving Lansing with a conman as the face of their party – Abdul El-Sayed can dodge questions about defunding the police and letting hardened criminals out of prison, but he can’t hide his extreme, dangerous record from Michigan families.”

Michigan state Rep. Bill Schuette (R-Midland) similarly accused Democrats of attempting to “repackage” El-Sayed for the general election, saying, “No convention speech or political makeover can change the fact that El-Sayed is a fraud who is far too extreme for Michigan.”

Democrats for Mike Rogers

Meanwhile, Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers is making a play for Democrats who may be less than thrilled with El-Sayed representing their state.

His campaign has launched “Democrats for Mike Rogers” while also courting Jewish voters, announcing support from a group of Jewish Democratic and independent community leaders. Rogers said the contrast is especially stark on Israel and antisemitism, accusing El-Sayed of “fan[ning] the flames of antisemitism” while he pledged to stand with Israel and protect Jewish students on Michigan campuses.

Getting down to business and looking forward to November

While Rogers works to peel away voters from the Democratic coalition, Democrats at the convention were also getting down to the nuts and bolts of preparing their own ticket for November, formally nominating candidates for several statewide offices and putting the rest of their 2026 ticket in place ahead of the upcoming election.

Democrats left Lansing preaching unity and a shared focus on November, particularly in their opposition to President Trump. But the convention also exposed divisions the party is still working to bridge between its progressive and moderate wings – divisions that could matter as Democrats fight to hold a U.S. Senate seat they’ve controlled for more than four decades and keep the governor’s office in Democratic hands.