On the eve of a midterm election, a Michigan congresswoman who had lost her party's Senate primary stepped onto a Detroit church stage beside the Republican she had once opposed, and urged voters to back him. It is an old story in new clothes: a rivalry grown bitter over the question of loyalty to a cause, whether that cause is a party, a faith, or a foreign state. Who draws the line between principle and betrayal is never settled by a single afternoon, and here the answer is still being argued in the last days before the ballots are cast.
Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers, Splitting Michigan Democrats Days Before Midterms
An extraordinary rebuke of her party's nominee on the eve of the midterms
Mark
Why does a losing primary candidate endorsing the other party matter this much?
Mimi
Because of timing and the truce. Party leaders had worked to get Stevens at least halfway on board, and she was due at a church in Detroit's North End with El-Sayed. Instead she ended up at a Detroit church with Rogers.
Mark
What actually broke the deal?
Mimi
Israel. She conditioned appearing with him on his denouncing an outside group's ad tying US support for Israel to living costs. He refused and said she was reopening a settled primary debate.
Luke
Worth noting that's the stated sequence from the reporting. We don't know what was said privately, and Newsom's line that something was going on is speculation, not a finding.
Mark
Staff left, too.
Mimi
Her chief of staff of eight years, Justin German, and communications director Logan Basch. German's statement endorsed El-Sayed on behalf of the team.
Luke
The departures of those two come via CNN's Manu Raju. German's statement is on the record, but the full extent of who else left isn't spelled out.
Mark
And the fiance angle?
Mimi
Commentators point out Jason Turkish has criticized El-Sayed publicly and supported Rogers, and gave to Republicans like Susan Collins this year.
Luke
That's what commentators noted. Nothing here says it drove her decision, so I'd keep those separate.
Mark
Does Trump's praise change anything?
Mimi
It adds heat. He said he'd love her to join the GOP, though she has a page on her site denouncing his policies. How voters react is still unknown.
Il Polso
- A congresswoman endorses the Republican rival of the Democrat who beat her, days before voting begins in one of the cycle's fiercest Senate races.
- A failed truce over Israel collapses into public recrimination, with a disinvited rally and accusations of reopening settled wounds.
- Party leaders call the move betrayal while the candidate's own campaign staff walk out, their chief of staff and communications director among the departing.
- Trump courts her to join the GOP, and the final stretch of the race now turns on whether this rupture can be contained before the midterms.
On the eve of a midterm election, a Michigan congresswoman who had lost her party's Senate primary stepped onto a Detroit church stage beside the Republican she had once opposed, and urged voters to back him. It is an old story in new clothes: a rivalry grown bitter over the question of loyalty to a cause, whether that cause is a party, a faith, or a foreign state. Who draws the line between principle and betrayal is never settled by a single afternoon, and here the answer is still being argued in the last days before the ballots are cast.
On Sunday, the day before the midterm elections, Congresswoman Haley Stevens stood at a predominantly Black church in Detroit beside Republican Mike Rogers. Afterward she posted a video to X endorsing him over Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who had narrowly beaten her in the Senate primary. It was a striking break with her own party's nominee in one of the most contested Senate races of the cycle.
The move ended a long and bitter feud that had been building since the primary, largely over Israel. Stevens, a staunch supporter of Israel, had for months held back from openly campaigning for El-Sayed. Party leaders brokered a fragile truce, and she was set to join him at a rally this weekend. That plan collapsed when she demanded he denounce an outside group's ad linking US support for Israel to the cost of living. He refused, and she was disinvited.
Democrats responded swiftly. The Michigan party chair accused her of abandoning her own values, Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani condemned her as having betrayed working-class voters, and Chuck Schumer's campaign called it despicable while insisting Senate Democrats stood united behind El-Sayed. Inside her own operation, her chief of staff of eight years and her communications director resigned, and the campaign team issued a statement backing El-Sayed.
El-Sayed said he barely thought about Stevens and cared more about policy. Trump, speaking in Iowa, praised her move and said he would love to see her join the Republican Party. With voting days away, the question is whether the Israel dispute and this fallout will reshape how the Michigan race closes.
On Sunday, the day before the midterm elections, Congresswoman Haley Stevens appeared at the Perfecting church in Detroit, a predominantly Black congregation, at an event with Republican Mike Rogers. Afterward she posted a video to X endorsing him over Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who beat her in Michigan's Senate primary. It was an extraordinary break with her own party's nominee, in one of the most fiercely contested Senate races of the cycle.
The endorsement capped a feud between Stevens and El-Sayed that had been building since the primary, most of it over support for Israel. Stevens had lost to El-Sayed by a narrow margin and, for months, declined to campaign openly for him. So had his other primary opponent, Mallory McMorrow. Top Democrats eventually brokered a truce. Stevens, after a vicious primary, gave El-Sayed a tepid endorsement and was scheduled to join him this weekend at a predominantly Black church in Detroit's North End.
That plan came apart over Israel. Late last week, Stevens, a staunch supporter of Israel, said her appearance with El-Sayed depended on him denouncing an ad from an outside group that blamed US support for Israel for the rising cost of living. El-Sayed refused, accusing her of needlessly reopening debates the primary had already settled. Stevens was later disinvited from the rally she had been expected to attend.
The response from Democrats was immediate. Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Stevens had abandoned everything she claims to care about by campaigning with a man he described as having sold out Michigan's working class, wanting a national abortion ban and pledging to be a loyal vote for Trump's agenda. He said the party rejected attempts by Stevens and what he called bad-faith actors to divide it, and would not be deterred by eleventh-hour distractions.
Inside Stevens's own operation, people quit. According to CNN's Manu Raju, her chief of staff of eight years, Justin German, and her communications director, Logan Basch, were among those who left. German then issued a statement on behalf of her campaign team backing El-Sayed, saying the election was too important to sow division or stand on the sidelines, and that the team was shocked and heartbroken by her decision.
Progressive figures piled on. Bernie Sanders wrote on X that her staff was right to resign in disgust, and that the Michigan race mattered far more than what he called Stevens's fragile ego. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said she had betrayed working-class people by endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run against. California Governor Gavin Newsom, on the talk show 2WAY, said Stevens had gone another 180 degrees overnight, that something was going on, and that the episode might be an October surprise of sorts. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's campaign account called it a despicable betrayal while insisting Senate Democrats remain united behind El-Sayed. It also condemned what it called racist, Islamophobic and false Republican attacks on him.
Commentators also noted that Stevens's fiance, Jason Turkish, has publicly criticized El-Sayed while supporting Rogers. Turkish, who is vocally pro-Israel, has given heavily to Democrats in the past but this year also donated to Republican candidates, including Susan Collins.
El-Sayed, speaking at a press conference outside the Sunday rally, offered his first public response. He said he doesn't actually think about Haley Stevens, and that he is less interested in the politics than the policy. Anyone who believes in standing up to hate, he said, probably would not want to support Rogers, Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Trump, meanwhile, praised Stevens at a rally in Iowa, calling her move incredible and saying he would love her to join the Republican Party and thought it could happen. Stevens's own website devotes a page to denouncing his policies. With voting days away, the question is whether the dispute over Israel and the fallout from Stevens's endorsement reshape the final stretch in Michigan.
Citazioni salienti
At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens.— Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic Senate nominee
We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens' decision to support Mike Rogers.— Justin German, Stevens's former chief of staff
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Politics & Governance