A Democratic unity event planned for Sunday in Detroit has drawn attention after an adviser to Rep. Jim Clyburn said Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed does not have the authority to withdraw an invitation to Rep. Haley Stevens. The event, scheduled in Michigan, was framed by the adviser as separate from El-Sayed’s control, despite Stevens having been one of his former primary rivals.
Antjuan Seawright, an adviser to Rep. Jim Clyburn, told The New York Times on Saturday afternoon that the invitation remains active. “This is not Abdul’s event,” Seawright said. “The invitation still stands.” His remarks directly addressed the question of whether El-Sayed could exclude Stevens from the gathering.
Stevens, a Democratic member of Congress from Michigan, had competed against El-Sayed in the primary. Her continued presence at a unity event carries political significance because such gatherings are intended to bring together party figures after intraparty contests. In campaigns for the U.S. Senate, public efforts to show cohesion can become important moments for candidates, elected officials and party networks seeking to move beyond primary divisions.
The intervention from Clyburn’s adviser places the focus on who controls the event rather than on the underlying campaign tensions. Clyburn, a senior Democrat from South Carolina, has long been a prominent figure in national Democratic politics, and his advisers’ public statements can shape how party events are understood. In this case, Seawright’s position was explicit: the Detroit gathering is not El-Sayed’s to manage unilaterally.
The available facts leave the event still scheduled for Sunday, with Stevens still invited. The episode underscores a familiar challenge for the Democratic Party after competitive primaries: the transition from rivalry to collective appearances can be politically delicate, especially when former opponents are expected to share the same stage. For now, the stated position from Clyburn’s camp is that Stevens’s invitation has not been rescinded.
