Two days before the midterms, Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's Senate race
Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's closely watched US Senate race, turning against her own party's nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, two days before Tuesday's midterm elections. Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August, said he had told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the move "a despicable betrayal", while Donald Trump praised it.
"Our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he's right," Stevens said in a video on Sunday. "And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today." She then appeared alongside Rogers at a church in Detroit. The rift began last week, when Stevens asked El-Sayed to condemn an ad by an outside group linking US military aid to Israel with rising grocery prices, which she called antisemitic. El-Sayed said the ad was not his and that he disagreed with it, but accused her of "relitigating a primary that ended three months ago".
Stevens insisted she was not turning her back on the Democrats. "It is this one vote," she said, describing it as "my personal and private decision". She had been expected to join El-Sayed at a unity event with Congressman Jim Clyburn on Sunday, but he called it off, saying he did not want to distract from the key issues. Asked about her endorsement, El-Sayed said: "I actually don't think about Haley Stevens."
Democratic leaders closed ranks behind their nominee. Schumer said Senate Democrats were "united" behind El-Sayed and called Rogers "a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors", and Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens would not be a member of the state party in the future. Rogers said the endorsement was "more a statement about standing together against hate", and Trump called it "a big move" and "a smart thing to do". The open Michigan seat is one of the races that will decide control of the Senate on Tuesday, 3 November.