By Zachary Stieber
Contributing Writer
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich, has decided to endorse Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate.
Stevens, 43, picked former FBI agent Rogers, 63, over his Democrat opponent, former health official Abdul El-Sayed, 42.
The late endorsement could affect one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
Endorsement stems from split with El-Sayed
Stevens, who vied with El-Sayed in the primary race for the Democratic nomination, has been critical of El-Sayed’s positions related to Israel and Gaza, and on Thursday called on him to condemn a campaign advertisement produced by an outside group connected to podcaster Hasan Piker that she said was antisemitic.
El-Sayed then requested Stevens not appear with him on the campaign trail.
“That’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers,” Stevens said in a video on Sunday.
She said she agreed she didn’t belong in El-Sayed’s campaign.
On CNN later Sunday, Stevens said El-Sayed “has been getting angrier and angrier” and that her endorsement of Rogers stemmed from his stance of excluding people from his campaign.
She also said, “I don’t like seeing a Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate campaigning with somebody who’s standing with someone who’s saying America deserves 9/11.”
Piker made a comment to that effect in the past.
El-Sayed, a Muslim, told reporters during a campaign stop over the weekend that he wanted to focus on how he plans to bring down costs for people, not on Stevens.
When asked whether Stevens had betrayed the Democratic Party, he said, “At the end of the day, I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens.”
El-Sayed said on MS Now on Sunday that he would tell voters who are unsure of who to select that he prioritizes defending democracy, lowering gas and grocery prices, ending tariffs, opposing abortion bans, supporting unions, and expanding government-run health care.
Prior to Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers, El-Sayed said in a statement that he defeated Stevens in the primary despite her receiving significant contributions from large corporations and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
An El-Sayed spokesperson had also told news outlets that the ad Stevens targeted, which criticized U.S. support of Israel and said the money was going to “killing Palestinians,” was not affiliated with his campaign.
Stevens Booted from State Democratic Party
Michigan’s Democratic Party removed Stevens after she endorsed Rogers.
“Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future,” Curtis Hertel, the leader of the state party, said in a statement.
Stevens said in her video announcing the endorsement of Rogers that she is “still a very proud Democrat.”
Many other Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have endorsed El-Sayed.
Schumer on X said that Stevens’ move was “a despicable betrayal.”
Jason Turkish, Stevens’ fiancé, endorsed Rogers in late October.
“We have somebody that won’t disavow ads that say Jews are to blame for everything,” Turkish said on Fox News on Friday.
Turkish said he is a lifelong Democrat and is supporting most other Democratic candidates.
Initially, after Turkish’s announcement, Stevens said she still supported El-Sayed and would vote for him.
“I’m casting my vote a certain way, and I hope to see more kindness within the Democratic Party, and for all of us to just accept when somebody has a disagreement, I mean, that’s fine,” Stevens said on CNN on Sunday. “I changed my mind.”
Republicans Revel in Change
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that Stevens was being loyal to Michiganders.
“Her following is huge, and the level of respect from the people of Michigan, especially our African American and Jewish populations, is virtually unparalleled,” Trump wrote on Sunday. “Haley said what few people are willing to say. … It’s a thing called bravery, and few people have it like just displayed by Congresswoman Haley Stevens!”
Rogers, who attended a church service with Stevens in Detroit on Sunday, welcomed the endorsement.
“I’m honored to earn Congresswoman Stevens’ endorsement and her vote,” he said in a statement.
“After Congresswoman Stevens endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, he had every opportunity to welcome her into his campaign. Instead of moving beyond the anger and dismissiveness he showed her in the primary, he leaned in and continued to run a campaign based on hate.”
