Rep. Haley Stevens beats Levin in battle of Democratic incumbents

Rep. Haley Stevens defeated a Democratic House colleague in a primary Tuesday night in Michigan, outperforming Rep. Andy Levin in an incumbent-versus-incumbent battle outside Detroit.

Stevens’ success comes after Michigan lost a congressional seat and redistricting forced the two Democrats together, with Levin deciding to leave behind the redrawn version of his current seat to face off in the 11th District.

The battle between Levin, a progressive, and Stevens, a moderate, garnered national and international attention as the latest venue for politicking on U.S.-Israel policy, with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its new super PAC throwing in with Stevens and J Street, a more liberal pro-Israel group, backing Levin. The expensive race also drew out the ideological differences splintering the Democratic Party at the national level.

The race brought national Democrats to the state. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stumped for Levin, while Stevens had the support of abortion rights group EMILY’s List and Hillary Clinton.

The redrawn 11th District captured sections of both of their previous territories, and a large swath of retiring Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence’s district. Lawrence backed Stevens in the race.

There are few differences in the two Democrats’ voting records, though Levin supports the party’s progressive agenda items, like Sanders’ Medicare for All.