Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race, spurning primary rival Abdul El-Sayed as Trump invites her to join the GOP

Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate on Sunday, two days before Election Day, detonating her party’s unity effort in a race that could determine control of the chamber. Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed earlier this year.

Stevens announced the endorsement in a video posted to X after appearing with Rogers at a church in Detroit on Sunday morning. The Michigan Senate race is one of the tightest in the midterm elections and could determine which party holds the majority. The seat is being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. According to the BBC, Democrats need a net gain of four seats to regain Senate control, and a loss in Michigan would leave them needing to flip five, a steep climb that elevates every contest on the battleground map.

The feud over Israel

The feud between Stevens and El-Sayed centered on U.S. support for Israel, an issue that divided the two former primary rivals more sharply than perhaps any other. Stevens is a centrist Democrat and staunch supporter of Israel, while El-Sayed represents the party’s left wing and has called Israel’s conduct in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks a genocide. The rupture widened after Stevens called on El-Sayed to denounce an outside group’s ad linking U.S. support for Israel with high grocery prices. The ad was produced by Rebellion PAC and Cenk Uygur of Young Turks, and it told Michigan families they could not afford groceries because their money had to be set aside, in the ad’s words, ‘for killing Palestinians.’ El-Sayed’s campaign said it had nothing to do with the ad and criticized its contents on Saturday.

Stevens had been scheduled to appear at a church event with El-Sayed on Sunday in a show of party unity, but the joint appearance did not happen. On Friday, Stevens set a condition: that El-Sayed reject the ad and apologize for rhetoric she considered inflammatory. The event with El-Sayed and Rep. James Clyburn went ahead as planned without Stevens. “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign,” Stevens said. “Who we are as Michiganders is not hate and is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now.” According to Stevens, El-Sayed told her she was not welcome in his campaign and should stay away. One account holds that El-Sayed asked her not to come; others indicate Stevens’ appearance was preconditioned on El-Sayed denouncing the ad, and he declined the request.

Stevens said she does not stand with Hasan Piker, a streamer who campaigned with El-Sayed during the primary. In August, after Piker implied that Jews’ support for Israel puts them at risk of personal violence, El-Sayed sought to distance himself from the controversy but stopped short of disavowing Piker. Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, had publicly supported Rogers before Stevens’ endorsement, citing rising antisemitism.

El-Sayed dismisses the endorsement

El-Sayed dismissed Stevens’ endorsement, saying he does not think about her. “None of this matters,” he said. He was standing with Rep. Jim Clyburn and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks outside a church on Sunday when he made the remarks.

Democratic backlash and staff resignations

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Stevens’ endorsement ‘a despicable betrayal.’ Stevens was the preferred candidate of Schumer during the primary, making her decision to back Rogers all the more striking to party leaders. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel condemned Stevens, saying she abandoned everything she claims to care about, and posted on X that she is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future. Top Democrats had brokered a truce between Stevens and El-Sayed after the primary; Stevens extended a tepid endorsement but for months had refused to openly campaign for him.

Multiple Stevens staffers resigned following her endorsement. Chief of staff Justin German, who served eight years, resigned and released a statement endorsing El-Sayed, saying the team was shocked and heartbroken by Stevens’ decision to support Rogers. Communications director Logan Basch was among those who resigned. Bernie Sanders posted on X that Stevens’ staff is right to resign in disgust and that all must stand together to elect Abdul, defeat Rogers, and end Republican rubber-stamp control of the Senate. Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said Stevens betrayed working-class people by endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run against.

Trump courts Stevens

Donald Trump praised Stevens during a rally in Iowa. “I’d love her to join the Republican Party actually,” he said. Trump said he had never met her. The overture came despite the fact that Stevens has an entire page on her website dedicated to denouncing Trump’s policies. Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the Senate, and a Rogers victory would help cement that advantage.

The conflict highlights broader Democratic Party divisions over Israel that are likely to extend far beyond Election Day. The last time a Republican was elected to this Senate seat was in 1994. Michigan voted for Joe Biden in 2020 but Donald Trump in 2024.