Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers for Senate in Michigan, Sparking Party Backlash

Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens has thrown her support behind Republican Mike Rogers in one of the most closely watched races in the US midterm elections, endorsing him over her own party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, just two days before voters head to the polls.

Stevens lost Michigan's Democratic Senate primary in August to El-Sayed, a former public health official who could become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.

The decision follows weeks of tension between the two Democrats over Israel and has provoked a backlash within the party as it fights to win control of Congress and limit President Donald Trump's power.

Despite a bitter primary battle, Stevens had promised to support El-Sayed and said as recently as Wednesday that she still wanted him to win.

That was despite her fiance, Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and civil rights attorney, announcing that he would vote for Rogers. Turkish accused El-Sayed of anti-Semitism, saying his rhetoric about Israel and the war in Gaza had made Jewish voters feel unsafe.

Stevens is a strong supporter of Israel, while El-Sayed has been an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza and US military aid to the country. Their differences were also a major issue during the Democratic primary, when a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spent tens of millions of dollars to back Stevens.

The latest dispute began last week, when an independent group backing El-Sayed, Rebellion PAC, released an advertisement linking US military aid to Israel to Americans' struggles with the cost of living. The ad shows a couple shopping for groceries who decide to put back a carton of eggs because they need to save that money for “killing Palestinians”.

Stevens called the ad anti-Semitic and demanded that El-Sayed condemn it. She also accused him of making similar arguments by suggesting that money spent on Israel could instead go towards schools, healthcare and childcare.

El-Sayed said the ad was not produced by his campaign and that he disagreed with its message, adding that Stevens was trying to relitigate their primary rather than focus on defeating Rogers.

The tensions came to a head on Sunday, when Stevens and El-Sayed were supposed to attend a church service together in a show of Democratic unity, but Stevens was uninvited. “Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” she said in a video on X. “And he's right. And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

But Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who helped organise the event, said she was the one who asked Stevens not to attend, telling The Associated Press that “it had become way too distracting”.

Stevens also criticised El-Sayed's association with political streamer Hasan Piker, whose uncle, Cenk Uygur, founded the PAC that released the ad. She told reporters on Sunday, with Rogers standing beside her: “We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hasan Piker.” She insisted she was still a Democrat and planned to vote for Democratic candidates in 90 percent of the races on her ballot, but said her Senate vote would go to Rogers.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement a “despicable betrayal”, saying Senate Democrats remained united behind El-Sayed. El-Sayed, for his part, told reporters: “At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens. I'm just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all.” He urged voters to focus on healthcare, civil rights and the differences between his campaign and that of Rogers, who is backed by Trump.

Stevens's decision also prompted resignations within her own team. Her chief of staff for eight years, Justin German, announced that he and several other staff members had stepped down over the endorsement, saying in a statement first shared by CNN: “We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens's decision to support Mike Rogers.” Trump, meanwhile, wrote on Truth Social: “Wow, this is BIG!” adding, “Haley said what few people are willing to say. It's a thing called bravery.”

El-Sayed and Rogers are competing to replace retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, in a closely contested race that could help determine which party controls the US Senate. Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress, and Democrats hope to win enough seats to challenge Trump's agenda. Stevens won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, and neighbouring Oakland County in the primary; both are Democratic strongholds where turnout could help determine Tuesday's result. Polling suggests El-Sayed has largely consolidated Democratic support, according to Reuters, and early voting began on October 24, before the latest dispute erupted.