Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate Race, Two Days Before the Election
Rep. Haley Stevens lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed by less than a point in August. On Sunday she stood beside his Republican opponent at a Detroit church, said 'I don't belong in Abdul's campaign,' and drew a 'despicable betrayal' charge from her own party's Senate leader in a race that could decide control of the chamber.
DETROIT - Two days before an election that could decide control of the U.S. Senate, one of Michigan's closest races broke open from inside the Democratic Party. Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed by less than one percentage point in August and then endorsed him, reversed herself on Sunday and endorsed his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, USA TODAY reported.
Stevens made the move in person and on video. She attended a Sunday service with Rogers and his wife at Perfecting Church on Detroit's east side - instead of a joint campaign event with Rep. James Clyburn that El-Sayed's campaign had asked her not to attend - and then posted her endorsement. "I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," Stevens, who called herself "a very proud Democrat," said in the video. "This is the conscience of the Senate right now and our Michigan moment." Rogers, standing with her, said he was proud to earn her vote: "Candidly, I'm glad I'm not running against Haley Stevens today."
The rupture had been building for days. Stevens had issued an extensive statement on Oct. 30 demanding that El-Sayed condemn an ad from an outside political action committee supporting him, and she objected to his campaigning alongside streamer Hasan Piker, whose comments about Israel and Jewish Americans have made him a lightning rod in the race. El-Sayed's campaign answered by asking her to stay away from its final events. On Sunday he dismissed the endorsement as a distraction: "I actually don't think about Haley Stevens," he told reporters, saying the race is about President Donald Trump and the cost of living.
The reaction from her party was immediate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had said in June that Stevens had the best chance of beating Rogers, called the endorsement "a despicable betrayal" and said Senate Democrats are united behind El-Sayed. Retiring Sen. Gary Peters, whose seat is at stake, said he was "extremely disappointed," and the Wall Street Journal reported that members of Stevens's own House staff - including her chief of staff and her communications director - resigned over the decision. Trump, campaigning in Iowa, praised Stevens, calling the endorsement "brave" and "a big move," and urged her to join the Republican Party. Michigan voters, more than two million of whom have already cast early ballots, decide the race on Tuesday.
