Democratic U.S. Representative Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race on Sunday, days before Tuesday’s midterm elections, after a public feud with her party’s nominee, Abdul El-Sayed.
Stevens, who lost the Democratic Senate nomination to El-Sayed, appeared alongside Rogers at a church. In a video posted to X after the appearance, she said she did not belong in El-Sayed’s campaign and that Michigan values were not about hate or what she described as coming from the Democratic nominee. She said that was why she was endorsing Rogers. Stevens also told reporters that El-Sayed had made clear she was not welcome in his campaign and that he did not need or want her there. The pair had been scheduled to appear together at another event on Sunday, but El-Sayed reportedly asked her not to come.
The dispute followed public clashes over a campaign advert from an outside liberal group that blamed Israel for high food prices. El-Sayed criticized the advert and said he had nothing to do with its contents.
When asked about Stevens’ endorsement, El-Sayed told reporters he was focused on the problems Michiganders are facing and said he did not think about Stevens, adding that none of it mattered.
In downtown Detroit, Democrats interviewed by the BBC said they were disappointed by the endorsement. Summer Lawrence, a 21-year-old student, called it a betrayal of the party and of what Stevens had told voters she stood for. Another voter, Matthew Barera, said he did not understand her reasoning and wondered whether she was seeking revenge or acting on frustrations from her own elections. Marissa Lee, a Rogers supporter, said she doubted the endorsement would change minds and described Stevens as angry.
Analysts consider the Michigan Senate race one of the tightest in Tuesday’s midterms, which will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years. It is one of a handful of battleground contests that will decide control of the Senate. The seat is currently held by a retiring Democrat, and the last Republican elected to it was in 1994. Michigan voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and for Donald Trump in 2024.
Rogers welcomed Stevens’ endorsement and said it showed courage. President Donald Trump echoed that on Truth Social, saying Stevens had shown great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the people of Michigan.
Many of Stevens’ staff reportedly resigned immediately after her announcement. Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said her decision showed she had abandoned everything she claims to care about and that the party rejected attempts by Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide it and undermine its momentum.
Over the weekend, as Stevens’ criticism of El-Sayed escalated, several Michigan Democratic politicians publicly urged her to end the feud and support the party’s candidates. State Senator Mallory McMorrow said on MSNow that it felt more about Stevens’ feelings than Michiganders and described the choice as between MAGA and Michigan. Senator Chuck Schumer said Senate Democrats were united behind El-Sayed and cited his focus on the economic interests of working families in Michigan, without naming Stevens.
El-Sayed, a left-wing outsider and son of Egyptian immigrants, defeated Stevens, an establishment-backed centrist, in a bruising primary earlier this year. He has channeled grassroots frustration with Washington politics and U.S. ties to Israel. Stevens had backing from party figures including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The primary and the subsequent feud have underlined divisions over the party’s direction ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Sources: BBC News World.