Three Democratic candidates vying for the U.S. Senate nomination in Michigan debated on May 28, with PolitiFact scrutinizing their statements on campaign finance, foreign policy, and state business development. The debate, held during the Mackinac Policy Conference, saw Abdul El-Sayed, Mallory McMorrow, and Haley Stevens present their visions ahead of the August 4 primary election.

Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, claimed, "I'm the only candidate on the stage who has never taken a dime from a corporation to run a campaign." PolitiFact found this accurate when referring to money from Political Action Committees organized by corporations. While federal and state laws prohibit direct corporate donations, El-Sayed is unique among the candidates in not having received corporate PAC donations in any of his political campaigns, though he has accepted contributions from labor union PACs.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, while rejecting corporate PAC money for her current U.S. Senate campaign, accepted such donations during previous state Senate runs, totaling around $80,000 from corporate PACs. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, however, has accepted corporate PAC donations in this campaign from entities like Google, Goldman Sachs, and Cigna, accumulating over $250,000 in the first half of 2025 and more than $1.7 million since 2018.

Rep. Stevens also asserted, "Small business revenues are down 40% (in the Upper Peninsula), and across the state they are down 20%" due to the U.S. trade war with Canada. PolitiFact found no data to substantiate these specific figures. While tourism from Canada to Michigan did decline and some businesses reported losses, the cited information, including a 30% drop in border traffic and an anecdote from one boutique owner, did not support Stevens' broad revenue claims.

Finally, Sen. McMorrow stated that Michigan’s Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund (SOAR) "has created zero jobs." This claim was found inaccurate by PolitiFact. A report from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation indicated that SOAR incentives had created 1,846 jobs through 2025, with businesses promising to create 14,559 jobs in total. McMorrow, who initially voted for the program, has since changed her stance, arguing its ineffectiveness.