Michigan Senate: Democrat backs Republican after bitter feud with Abdul El-Sayed | What led to the stunning change? | Today’s news

A Michigan Democrat stunned many when she reportedly endorsed the Republican candidate in Michigan as a feud with her own party’s candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, escalated just days before the vote.

Haley Stevens, a former U.S. Senate primary challenger to Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, stunned party officials Sunday by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers amid simmering Democratic tensions, according to the Associated Press.

Stevens endorsed Rogers after attending a service with him in Detroit.

Haley Stevens is a sitting congresswoman who lost the Democratic Senate nomination to El-Sayed.

“I’m not with Abdul’s campaign,” she said in a video posted on X. She added, “Who we are as Michiganders is not hate and it’s not what we’re getting from our Democratic candidate right now.”

El-Sayed dismissed the endorsement when asked about it by reporters later on Sunday, saying he was focusing on issues of concern to voters, such as the high cost of living.

“At the end of the day, I don’t really think about Haley Stevens,” he said, later adding, “None of that matters.”

What triggered the stunning switch?

The Democratic primaries were among the most bitter this year. Each candidate has accused the other of making personal attacks.

Stevens’ notable endorsement of a candidate backed by President Donald Trump in a tight race comes after she was not invited to a joint event on the same day as El-Sayed, who narrowly defeated the congresswoman in the August primary, the AP reported.

“Our Democratic Senate candidate has said that I am no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” Stevens said in a video announcing the endorsement that led her top aide to leave. “And he’s right. And that’s why I’m endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

According to the report, tensions between the two Democrats have been growing since the primaries. Stevens is a staunch supporter of Israel, while El-Sayed is a fierce critic of the American ally.

He has also been criticized by some in the community for past remarks regarding the attack on a synagogue in Michigan and for appearing with controversial streamer Hasan Piker.

According to The BBC, the public spat between Stevens, a centrist Democrat, and El-Sayed, who represents the party’s left, boiled over when Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn a campaign ad from an outside liberal group that linked US support for Israel to high prices.

El-Sayed criticized the ad and said he had nothing to do with its content. He took particular offense to an advertisement by an outside group that accused him of disrespecting women.

Although Stevens pledged after the primary to help El-Sayed in any way she could, the two have not appeared together publicly since having breakfast together two days after his primary victory.

Last week, Stevens’ fiancé told The Detroit News that he would vote for Rogers. Stevens later appeared on CNN to reaffirm her support for El-Sayed, but urged his campaign to “stop the hate and get it out.”

But on Friday, after The Associated Press reported on the planned joint appearance, Stevens issued a lengthy statement calling on El-Sayed to condemn an ​​ad by an independent left-wing group that linked American support for Israel to high food prices.

“Abdul promises to get money from politics,” Stevens wrote. “He can start by taking Israel out of explaining everything Michigan can’t afford.”

El-Sayed responded, “So while Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on repeating the primaries that ended three months ago, let’s all focus on the task at hand.”

He made it clear that the ad was not created by his campaign, saying: “I do not agree with the content of this ad.

Democrats left shocked

Michigan’s Democratic leaders were left in shock. With less than 48 hours to go before Election Day, a party that had spent months trying to rally behind its Senate candidate suddenly faced an extraordinary defection in one of the most important races of the year.

El-Sayed, a former Michigan public health official, is facing Rogers, a former congressman, for the seat held by outgoing Democrat Gary Peters. Keeping Michigan in Democratic hands is critical to the party’s bid to win a Senate majority for the final two years of Trump’s second term.

Stevens and El-Sayed were originally scheduled to attend the church, along with other Michigan and national Democrats including South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, an institution in party politics that supported Stevens in the primary but now supports El-Sayed.

Democrats hoped it would be a show of unity as they worked to boost voter turnout in the Detroit area, where concerns persisted about enthusiasm among black and Jewish voters in key Democratic strongholds.

Instead, Stevens resorted to gospel music alongside Rogers in the pews at the Perfecting Church, while El-Sayed was a few miles away at another house of worship, campaigning alongside prominent Democrats, including Clyburn. The Associated Press attended both services as the dramatic split screen unfolded.

“I’m not turning my back on the Democrats”

After a service north of Detroit where Stevens and her fiance Jason Turkish worshiped Rogers and his wife, Kristi, the congresswoman told reporters, “I’m not turning my back on the Democrats. It’s this one vote.”

Rogers, standing next to her, said he was “honored” by her support.

Their appearance came days after Stevens publicly reaffirmed that she would vote for her party’s nominee.

It also led to the resignation of its longtime chief of staff, with a number of staff expected to soon follow, according to a person familiar with the development who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

“We are shocked and heartbroken,” the aide said in a statement.

‘A despicable betrayal’

State party chairman Curtis Hertel said Stevens’ endorsement “shows she’s given up on everything she says she cares about.”

“We reject attempts by Stevens and actors in bad faith to divide our party and undermine our momentum,” Hertel wrote, and we will not allow such an 11th-hour “distraction” to derail the campaign. Hertel later wrote that Stevens “is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will he be in the future.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who supported Stevens in the primary, condemned her endorsement of Rogers.

“This is an abhorrent betrayal by Rep. Stevens,” Schumer wrote in a social media post.

Dingell says she declined Stevens’ invitation after it became “distracting”

Among the Democrats who joined El-Sayed Sunday morning at the church were U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the Senate primary before voting began.

Dingell, a senior Democratic figure in the state who helped organize the planned joint appearance, said she asked Stevens not to attend and that Stevens told her he would honor it.

“I’m the one who pulled it out because it was getting too distracting,” Dingell said in an interview before Stevens appeared with Rogers. “This is not how I wanted to spend the weekend before the election, to be perfectly honest.

In the August primary, Stevens defeated El-Sayed in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, and neighboring Oakland County, winning the support of black and Jewish voters who are an important part of the Democratic coalition.

Early voting for Tuesday’s election has been open since October 24. By Friday, more than 1.8 million people had already voted in Michigan.

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate is seen by analysts as one of the tightest in Tuesday’s midterm elections. It is one of the few battle contests that will ultimately decide control of the Senate.

The seat is currently held by an outgoing Democrat, and the last time a Republican was elected to this Senate seat was in 1994. But it is one of the major swing states in presidential elections – Michigan voted for Joe Biden in 2020, but Donald Trump in 2024.