On the Sunday before a closely watched Election Day, a Democratic congresswoman stood beside her party's Republican rival in a Detroit church and cast her lot with him, rupturing a Michigan Senate contest that had already been bruised by a bitter primary. The break grew from a dispute over an outside ad and a charge of antisemitism, and it arrived in a political culture where loyalty, grievance and identity are tightly braided. Whether such a rupture is a principled stand or a wound that outlasts the vote is a question the coming days will only begin to answer.
Stevens Endorses Republican Rogers in Michigan Senate Race, Splitting With Democratic Nominee El-Sayed
"It is this one vote," Stevens said, standing beside a Republican.
Mark
Why does one House member's endorsement matter this much, two days out?
Mimi
Because Stevens was the Senate Democrats' preferred candidate in the primary. Her backing of the Republican is a break inside the party's own establishment, not just a defection.
Luke
Worth saying what it is. It's one vote and one endorsement. Nothing in the reporting shows it moves any voters.
Mark
What actually triggered it?
Mimi
An outside group's ad tying military aid to Israel to grocery prices. Stevens called it antisemitic and asked El-Sayed to condemn it. He said he didn't make it and disagrees with it.
Luke
So they agree he disagrees with the ad, yet she wanted a stronger denunciation. The reporting doesn't spell out exactly what she wanted him to say.
Mark
And the "not welcome" claim?
Luke
That's Stevens' account. The piece quotes El-Sayed saying he'd rather not distract from key issues, about the unity event, but not a direct statement banning her.
Mimi
The staff exits are the concrete part. Her chief of staff resigned, and others are expected to.
Mark
What should we watch?
Luke
Turnout and any copycat endorsements. Neither is known yet.
El Pulso
- A Democratic congresswoman endorsed the Republican Senate candidate just two days before voters head to the polls in Michigan.
- The split erupted over an outside ad linking Israel military aid to grocery prices, which she called antisemitic and he says he did not make.
- Party leaders including Schumer and the state chair condemned the move as betrayal, while Trump and Republicans celebrated it.
- Her chief of staff and other aides have resigned, and the office is fracturing even as she insists the decision is personal and private.
- With the vote on Tuesday, the central question is whether the rupture moves Democratic turnout or prompts other Democrats to follow her.
On the Sunday before a closely watched Election Day, a Democratic congresswoman stood beside her party's Republican rival in a Detroit church and cast her lot with him, rupturing a Michigan Senate contest that had already been bruised by a bitter primary. The break grew from a dispute over an outside ad and a charge of antisemitism, and it arrived in a political culture where loyalty, grievance and identity are tightly braided. Whether such a rupture is a principled stand or a wound that outlasts the vote is a question the coming days will only begin to answer.
On Sunday, two days before Election Day, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens stood beside Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers at a Detroit church and announced she would vote for him. In a video that day, she said Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee she had once backed, had told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign, and she said he was right to do so. That remark marked the end of a relationship that had frayed through the final week of the race.
The rupture traces back to Stevens' narrow loss to El-Sayed in August's primary. In the closing stretch she pressed him to condemn an outside ad connecting U.S. military aid to Israel with rising grocery prices, which she called antisemitic. El-Sayed answered that the ad was not his and that he disagrees with it, and accused her of refighting a primary that was three months old. Rogers had already praised her for voicing the concerns of Jewish voters, and after the church appearance he said the two had decided together to stand there.
Stevens framed her choice as a personal and private decision, one vote in what she called a Michigan moment, and insisted she had not meant to harm her party. El-Sayed brushed it aside: he said he was focused on the nearly ten million Michiganders who deserve better from their government. Schumer condemned the move as a despicable betrayal, and Michigan Democratic chair Curtis Hertel said she is no longer a party member. Trump praised her, and Republicans offered her a home.
Inside her office, the strain showed. Her longtime chief of staff resigned, along with others, and former staff said the campaign she led was being abandoned. With voting set for Tuesday, the open question is whether the split will reshape Democratic turnout and whether anyone else will follow her.
On Sunday, two days before Election Day, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens stood beside Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers at a church in Detroit and announced she was voting for him. Earlier she had said she was backing the Democratic ticket. In a video posted to social media that day, she said the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, had told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign and should stay away. "And he's right," she said, adding that this was why she was endorsing Rogers.
Stevens lost Michigan's Democratic primary to El-Sayed by a narrow margin in August. She had heavy backing from the Senate Democrats' campaign arm. The rupture grew out of the last week of the race. She called on El-Sayed to condemn an ad from an outside group that linked U.S. military aid to Israel to rising grocery prices, which she described as antisemitic. El-Sayed accused her of relitigating a primary that ended three months earlier. He also said the ad was not made by him and that he disagrees with its contents.
Rogers had already praised Stevens on Friday for pressing El-Sayed and for voicing the concerns of Michigan Jewish voters. In a post on X he called her a courageous leader who had behaved with class since the primary. Speaking to reporters after the church appearance, Rogers said Stevens called him Sunday morning, and they decided together to appear at the church. He described the moment as a statement about standing together against hate, and said that at the end of the call Stevens reminded him she is still a Democrat.
Stevens said she was not trying to harm her party or turn her back on Democrats. "It is this one vote," she said, citing what she called repeated hate and pointing to the campaign standing with Hasan Piker. She called it a personal and private decision and a "Michigan moment." She said she meant it when she earlier endorsed El-Sayed, but that he chose to close his campaign by saying she was not welcome. She had been expected to join El-Sayed at a Sunday unity event with Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. On Saturday, El-Sayed said he would rather not distract from the campaign's key issues. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, said last week that he is voting for Rogers.
El-Sayed answered the endorsement bluntly: "I actually don't think about Haley Stevens." He said Michigan is a state of 10 million people who deserve better from their government, and that he is focused on the 9,999,998 others.
Senior Democrats rallied around him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Senate Democrats are united behind El-Sayed and called Rogers a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors. On X he called Stevens' move a "despicable betrayal." Rep. Debbie Dingell said Michiganders want leaders focused on affordability, not Stevens' continued efforts to get attention. Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens is not a current member of the party and will not be in the future.
President Trump praised her on Truth Social, citing her following and standing with African American and Jewish Michiganders. He told reporters it was a big move that nobody expected, and said El-Sayed would destroy the country. House Speaker Mike Johnson, at a Trump rally in Iowa, said he spoke to Stevens and encouraged her to stay safe and keep speaking the truth. RNC spokesman Hunter Lovell said Democrats who feel El-Sayed has abandoned them have a home with Rogers, and argued that the center of Michigan politics has moved.
Stevens' own office began to come apart. Her longtime chief of staff, Justin German, resigned, and more staff are expected to follow. In a statement first shared by CNN, he said the team was shocked and heartbroken and is wholeheartedly supporting El-Sayed. An automated reply from former communications director Logan Basch says that as of November 1 he is no longer with her office. Former press secretary Joetta Appiah said Stevens is walking back everything her campaign stood for.
With voting set for Tuesday, the open question is whether the split dents Democratic turnout and whether any other Democrats follow Stevens. CBS's 60 Minutes is set to feature Ross Douthat's interviews with both candidates.
Citas Notables
Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed.— Sen. Chuck Schumer
I actually don't think about Haley Stevens.— Abdul El-Sayed
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