Mystery group spending $5 million to boost Stevens in Michigan Senate primary

DETROIT - A mystery dark money group on Friday reserved an estimated $5.3 million in media markets around Michigan to air advertisements touting Senate Democratic hopeful Haley Stevens' work to "hold ICE accountable."

"Haley Stevens in Michigan is calling for new federal oversight of immigration enforcement," the ad narrator says, mentioning a bill she introduced in Congress to create an independent special prosecutor to investigate alleged misconduct by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The spot uses a clip of the four-term congresswoman from Birmingham saying, "This is about accountability for an agency that hasn't had any."

The group that paid for the airtime reservations and for the new ad is the Center for Democratic Priorities, which has a short paper trail, having registered in late October at an address in Dover, Delaware. It doesn't appear to have filed yet with the Federal Election Commission or the Internal Revenue Service as of Saturday morning.

The ad reservations run through the end of May on broadcast channels and cable in markets including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint and Traverse City. Stevens' campaign declined to comment on the outside spending Saturday.

The new spot comes after Stevens has received criticism from her Democratic primary rivals for taking campaign donations from federal contractors equipping or arming immigration enforcement agents and for a House vote in 2025 expressing "gratitude" to ICE agents last year.

That measure also condemned the June 1 antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, and Stevens has defended her vote: "I take antisemitic violence very seriously, and I will always vote to condemn it," Stevens told The Detroit News in January.

One of Stevens' opponents in the Democratic primary, Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor, suggested without evidence on Friday that the group sponsoring the ad might be funded by the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which has used shell PACs to spend to boost pro-Israel candidates or against critics of Israel in other primary contests this cycle. His campaign noted they at least share a vendor, Waterfront Strategies.

In paperwork filed with TV stations, a board officer for the Center for Democratic Priorities was listed as John Jones. An individual of the same name was listed as treasurer for the group Blue Wave Action that in 2024 spent $2.3 million in the Democratic primary in Michigan's 13th District against Democratic challengers to U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit.

Blue Wave Action was later revealed to be funded by two groups tied to AIPAC, the United Democracy Project and Voters For Responsive Government. AIPAC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday morning.

"Michiganders will see through this clear attempt to buy this race for Congresswoman Stevens," El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner said in a statement.

"AIPAC has stated time and time again that they see Abdul as a tremendous threat to the US-Israel relationship, due to his unwavering opposition to Netanyahu's genocide and the unconditional aid we now give to Israel."

Another rival, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, claimed the dark-money group was coming in to help Stevens because McMorrow has slammed Stevens for voting for a resolution last year that thanked U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement and for taking money from the political action committee for a company that sold tasers to the agency.

"Why now? Because I called out Haley Stevens ... ," McMorrow said in a video posted to social media.

She noted that the day after her criticism at the American Federation of Teachers forum, Stevens' campaign revised language on its website urging outside groups to "immediately" help spread the word about her fighting "Trump's abuses of power and fighting for Michigan."

Stevens spokesman Arik Wolk told Punchbowl News last week after the website update that Stevens has been "fighting back against ICE and Trump's abuses of power since the start of this administration."

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(Staff writer Craig Mauger contributed.)

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