Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers for Senate Two Days Before Election

Democratic U.S. Representative Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan on Sunday, 1 November, two days before the midterm elections. Stevens, who narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August, announced the decision after appearing with Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit and then posting a video on social media.

In the video Stevens said: “Hey Michigan, as you may have seen, 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. I don't belong in Abdul's campaign.” She added that she does not stand with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who had been associated with El-Sayed’s primary campaign.

Stevens and Rogers addressed reporters outside the church. Stevens stated that 90 percent of the votes she casts in Congress are for Democrats, but her vote for Senate would go to Rogers because “we have to stand with country.” She described the choice as one that is right for Michigan. Rogers said he was honored to have her support and that the endorsement was “more a statement about standing together against hate and the future of this state and this country than it is anything else.”

The move followed weeks of public friction. Stevens had demanded that El-Sayed condemn an outside advertisement linking U.S. military aid to Israel with rising grocery prices, which she called antisemitic. El-Sayed’s campaign later indicated Stevens was not welcome at a planned unity event and other campaign stops. Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, had already said he planned to vote for Rogers and attended an event with Rogers and Senator Ted Cruz the previous week.

Democratic leaders condemned the endorsement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “despicable betrayal.” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens had abandoned the issues she claims to care about by campaigning with a candidate who supports a national abortion ban and has pledged loyalty to Donald Trump’s agenda. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin described it as a betrayal of the values of the Democratic Party. The Michigan Democratic Party rejected what it called eleventh-hour attempts to divide the party.

Stevens maintained that she remains a proud Democrat. She told reporters she had stood with her party after the primary but was booed off the stage at one event. El-Sayed told reporters before an appearance at another Detroit church that the primary is over and that he does not think about Stevens. He has previously distanced himself from some of the more controversial associations from the primary period.

Michigan’s Senate seat is open after the retirement of Democratic Senator Gary Peters. The race is viewed as competitive and could influence which party controls the Senate. Rogers is the former Republican congressman who is the party’s nominee. Stevens had been heavily supported by the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm during the primary before losing to El-Sayed.

The endorsement occurred on the final full campaign weekend. Trump is scheduled to hold rallies in Iowa and Kansas in support of Republican candidates. In Michigan the focus has shifted to whether Stevens’ decision moves any measurable number of voters in a state where margins have been tight in recent cycles. Both campaigns continued events on Sunday, with El-Sayed appearing at the Northend Church of God in Christ in Detroit.

Stevens’ decision is unusual for a sitting member of Congress who only months earlier sought the same nomination. It leaves the Democratic nominee without the public support of the primary runner-up in the closing days. Republican operatives have highlighted the appearance at the predominantly Black church in Detroit as a potential signal to voters who had been targeted by both parties. Democratic officials have said the party will continue its mobilization efforts regardless of the endorsement.