A high-profile liberal congressman lost his bid for reelection to an establishment-backed rival on Tuesday night, delivering a stinging blow to the Democratic Party’s left flank.
With 82% of ballots counted, Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) had just 40% of the vote to Rep. Haley Stevens’s (D-MI) 60% when he called her to concede the race. Recent polling had shown Stevens was the favorite in the race.
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The two incumbent Michigan Democrats had been forced into a contentious member vs. member primary fight after Levin’s district became more favorable to Republicans during the decennial redistricting process, and he opted to challenge Stevens in her Democratic-leaning 11th Congressional District rather than run an uphill race in his current seat.
Stevens declared victory before the race was called in a speech at her election night watch party in Birmingham.
“My friends, it’s not a mystery why we beat the odds. We stayed in Congress because we listened. I listened,” Stevens said.
The primary battle quickly devolved into an ideological proxy war between centrist and left-wing factions of the Democratic Party. While Levin had the support of progressive stars such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Stevens had endorsements from establishment-aligned figures and groups, including 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), the chairwoman of the center-left New Democrat Coalition. Sanders and Warren even traveled to Michigan in recent weeks to campaign for Levin ahead of the primary in an attempt to stave off the defeat of one of their top allies in the House.
Israel had also morphed into a major point of contention between the House colleagues, both elected to their current seats in 2018, with Levin and Stevens trading barbs over the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups in the race. Stevens, considered a staunch ally of Israel in Congress, received millions of dollars in financial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, along with endorsements from the Democratic Majority for Israel, Pro-Israel America, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
In a statement issued after his concession, Levin pledged to support Stevens in the general election but claimed that he was the “target” of a “Republican-funded campaign.” He added that he would “continue to speak out against the corrosive influence of dark money on our democracy” after leaving office.
While Levin is not known as an outspoken critic of Israel, unlike some of his colleagues on the Democratic Party’s furthest left flank, he introduced a bill last year called the Two-State Solution Act that was vehemently opposed by AIPAC and other pro-Israel organizations. If enacted, the bill would place human rights restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel, condemn controversial Israeli settlements, and designate the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as “occupied territories,” among other provisions. Levin’s bill drew intense pushback from pro-Israel groups and contributed to their efforts to defeat him in the primary.
Levin had made headlines recently for touting the fact that he was arrested multiple times at progressive rallies in Washington, D.C. After one arrest at an abortion rights rally at the Supreme Court, Levin sent out a fundraising email soliciting donations, describing being taken into police custody alongside “reproductive freedom warriors” as evidence that he was the true progressive in his race against Stevens.
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Levin’s family is well known in Michigan politics. Levin’s father, former Rep. Sander Levin, was a congressman for 36 years before being succeeded by his son in 2018. And Levin’s uncle, the late Sen. Carl Levin, was a Democratic senator for 36 years before retiring after the 2014 elections.
Stevens will face Republican nominee Mark Ambrose in the general election but is the favorite to prevail in the heavily Democratic 11th District.
