Why Haley Stevens endorsed a Republican for Michigan's Senate seat, and why Democrats are furious

On Sunday, two days before Americans vote in the midterms, Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens stood next to Republican Mike Rogers and announced she would vote for him for the US Senate in Michigan. Rogers is running against her own party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in one of the most closely watched races in the country.

Stevens lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August, narrowly. He is a former public health official who could become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. She had promised to back him after the primary and said as recently as Wednesday that she still wanted him to win. That was true even though her fiance, Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and civil rights lawyer, had already said he would vote for Rogers. Federal Election Commission reports show Turkish has given nearly $250,000 to both Democrats and Republicans this cycle. He has accused El-Sayed of anti-Semitism, saying his rhetoric on Israel and the war in Gaza made Jewish voters feel unsafe.

The divide between the two Democrats is rooted in Israel. Stevens is a strong supporter of the country. El-Sayed is an outspoken critic of the war in Gaza, which the source describes as genocidal, and of US military aid to Israel. The issue loomed over the primary, when a super PAC affiliated with AIPAC spent tens of millions of dollars backing Stevens.

The latest rupture began last week, when Rebellion PAC, an independent group supporting El-Sayed, released an ad tying military aid to Israel to Americans' cost-of-living struggles. In it, a couple shopping for groceries put back a carton of eggs because they need the money for "killing Palestinians." Stevens called the ad anti-Semitic and demanded that El-Sayed condemn it. She also said he made similar arguments when he suggested that money spent on Israel could go to schools, healthcare and childcare. El-Sayed said his campaign did not make the ad and that he disagreed with its message. He accused Stevens of trying to re-litigate the primary instead of focusing on beating Rogers.

Sunday's church service was meant to show Democratic unity, with Stevens and El-Sayed attending together. Stevens was uninvited. In a video on X, she said the nominee had told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign and should stay away, then announced her endorsement of Rogers. Representative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who helped organize the event, told The Associated Press that she was the one who asked Stevens not to come because it had become "way too distracting." On CNN, Stevens said the matter was about El-Sayed "getting angrier and angrier" and that she was trying to help the Democratic Party. She also criticized his association with streamer Hasan Piker, whose uncle, Cenk Uygur, founded the PAC behind the ad. Standing beside Rogers, she said, "We can't stand with hate." She said she remains a Democrat and plans to vote for Democrats in 90 percent of the races on her ballot.

The party's reaction was fierce. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who recruited her to run, called it a "despicable betrayal" but said he doesn't think about Stevens and cares more about policy. DNC Chair Ken Martin called it a betrayal of party values. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said she is not a current member of the state party and will not be in the future. Justin German, her chief of staff for eight years, said he and several other staffers resigned, saying they were shocked and heartbroken. Stevens would not say explicitly whether staff had quit, describing her office as "in a transition" as she prepares to leave Congress in January. Dingell, after watching the CNN interview, called it one of the most painful she had seen and said she was worried about Stevens.

Trump wrote "Wow, this is BIG!" and at a rally in Iowa called her move bravery and said he would "love" for her to become a Republican. Speaker Mike Johnson called the endorsement courageous and said he sent her a note.

The electoral effect is uncertain. El-Sayed and Rogers are competing to replace retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters in a race that could decide Senate control. Stevens beat El-Sayed in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, and in neighboring Oakland County, with support from Black and Jewish voters. Both are Democratic strongholds. Reuters reports that polling shows El-Sayed has largely consolidated Democratic support, and early voting began October 24, before the dispute.

What happens to Stevens is unclear. House Democratic Caucus rules bar members from campaigning for non-Democrats in partisan federal races if they want to keep membership. IfNotNow, MPower Action and Our Revolution have urged Hakeem Jeffries to expel her from the caucus and strip her committee assignments; Pramila Jayapal told POLITICO she supports removal. Jeffries's office did not immediately comment. Removal would cost Democrats a vote in a House split 218 to 214 in Republicans' favor. Watch what Democrats do when Congress returns the week after the election.