Michigan Democrat backs Republican in Senate race

Michigan voters head to the polls on Tuesday in a tight Senate contest, but a key Democratic figure has switched sides. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a Democrat, announced on Sunday that she is endorsing Republican Mike Rogers. She is backing him over her own party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. The decision lands two days before the election, in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Stevens lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August. El-Sayed is a former public health official who would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. The two spent the primary campaign fighting over views on Israel. A super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent tens of millions of dollars to support Stevens during that primary.

Public tensions between the two Democrats flared again last week. An independent group called Rebellion PAC, which supports El-Sayed, released a television ad. The ad features a couple shopping for groceries who put back a carton of eggs to save money for "killing Palestinians." Stevens called the advertisement anti-Semitic. She asked El-Sayed to condemn it, noting that he has suggested US military aid to Israel could instead fund schools, healthcare, and childcare.

El-Sayed responded that his campaign did not produce the ad. He stated that he disagreed with its message and accused Stevens of relitigating their primary battle rather than focusing on defeating Rogers. The conflict intensified on Sunday when Stevens and El-Sayed were scheduled to attend a church service together. The event was intended to show Democratic unity, but Stevens was not invited.

Stevens posted a video on the social media platform X to announce her endorsement. "Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away," she said in the clip. "And he's right. And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today." Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who helped organize the church event, told The Associated Press that she asked Stevens not to attend. Dingell said the situation had become "way too distracting."

Stevens also pointed to El-Sayed's association with political streamer Hasan Piker. Piker's uncle, Cenk Uygur, founded the PAC that released the controversial ad. Speaking to reporters on Sunday with Rogers standing beside her, Stevens said, "We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hasan Piker." She said she remains a Democrat and will vote for Democratic candidates in 90 percent of the races on her ballot, but her vote for Senate will go to Rogers.

Senior Democrats reacted sharply to the switch. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement a "despicable betrayal." He said Senate Democrats remain united behind El-Sayed and urged voters to focus on healthcare, civil rights, and the differences between the campaigns. "At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens," Schumer told reporters. "I'm just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all."

Stevens's own team also responded. Justin German, her chief of staff for eight years, announced that he and several other staff members had resigned over the endorsement. "We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens's decision to support Mike Rogers," German said in a statement. President Donald Trump celebrated the move on Truth Social, writing, "Wow, this is BIG!" He added that Haley said what few people are willing to say and called it "a thing called bravery."

The race pits El-Sayed against Rogers for the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress. Democrats hope to win enough seats to challenge President Trump's agenda. Stevens defeated El-Sayed in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, and neighboring Oakland County. Both areas are Democratic strongholds. Polling from Reuters suggests El-Sayed has largely consolidated Democratic support. Early voting began on October 24, before the recent dispute between the two Democrats became public.

Stevens noted that her fiancé, Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and civil rights attorney, had already announced he would vote for Rogers. Turkish accused El-Sayed of anti-Semitism, stating that his rhetoric about Israel and the war in Gaza made Jewish voters feel unsafe. Stevens maintained that position in her own endorsement, prioritizing the concerns of specific voter groups in the final days of the campaign.