Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers for Senate

Stevens breaks with her party in final stretch

Democratic Representative Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat on Sunday, November 1, 2026. She announced the decision in a video posted to social media after appearing with Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit. Stevens had lost the August Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed and had previously said she would support the nominee.

In the video, Stevens stated: "Our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away. And he's right. And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today." She added that she does not stand with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who had campaigned with El-Sayed during the primary.

Context of the primary and subsequent feud

Stevens, a two-term member of the House from Michigan's 11th district, entered the primary as the candidate favored by the Senate Democrats' campaign arm. El-Sayed, a physician and former public health official, won the nomination in August after a contentious race focused on economic issues, health care, and foreign policy, including U.S. military aid to Israel.

Tensions rose in the final weeks of the general election campaign. Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn an outside advertisement that linked U.S. aid to Israel with rising grocery prices. She described the ad as antisemitic. El-Sayed rejected the ad's content the following day. Stevens later said she had been booed off a stage after endorsing El-Sayed following the primary and that she had never felt welcome in the campaign.

Rogers, a former House member and national security official, has run as a conventional Republican in a state that has been competitive in recent cycles. The Michigan Senate seat is among the races that could determine which party holds a majority in the chamber after Tuesday's midterm elections. Republicans currently hold a narrow edge.

Reactions from party leaders

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Stevens' endorsement a "despicable betrayal." Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin described it as a betrayal of the party's values. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens had abandoned the issues she claims to care about by campaigning with Rogers, who has supported a national abortion ban and pledged support for former President Donald Trump's agenda.

Rogers said he was honored by the endorsement. He stated that he and Stevens had spoken by phone earlier that morning. After the church service, he told reporters the moment was about standing together against hate and for the future of the state and country.

Electoral implications

The endorsement arrives two days before Election Day. Polling in the Michigan Senate race has been tight. Democrats have sought a united front in the final stretch. Stevens said she remains a proud Democrat and expects to cast most of her votes with the party, but that her Senate vote would go to Rogers because "we have to stand with country."

El-Sayed told reporters he does not think about Stevens and that the primary is over. He appeared at another church in Detroit on the same day. The public split has drawn national attention and complicated Democratic efforts to hold the seat.

Stevens' decision adds a concrete example of intra-party friction over Israel policy, campaign tone, and candidate suitability in a high-stakes race. The result on Tuesday will show whether the endorsement shifts votes among moderate, Black, or Jewish voters in the Detroit area, or whether it remains a late-cycle distraction.