Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race

Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away. And he's right. And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.

Haley Stevens, via Yahoo.com and The Independent

That striking declaration by former U.S. Representative Haley Stevens on Sunday upended the final stretch of Michigan’s tightly contested U.S. Senate race. Stevens, who narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August, stunned party officials by appearing with Republican candidate Mike Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit just days before the election.

The defection threatens to fracture the Democratic coalition in Wayne and Oakland counties, where turnout among Black and Jewish voters is vital. Keeping the seat in Democratic hands is necessary for the party's effort to win a majority for the final two years of President Donald Trump's second term. The contest for the seat held by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters has drawn tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's affiliated super PAC, which backed Stevens.

An Unravelling Church Unity Event and Escalating Spat

The public split followed the collapse of a planned joint appearance meant to project party unity. Stevens was initially scheduled to join El-Sayed and U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina at a church service organized by senior Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell. Those plans fell apart after an escalating dispute over Israel and an outside group's campaign ad that blamed U.S. support for Israel on high grocery prices.

Dingell said she asked Stevens not to attend because the feud had become too distracting. I'm the one who pulled it because it had become way too distracting, Dingell said in a telephone interview on Sunday, adding, The bishop was getting upset, because this is a real church service. El-Sayed responded to Stevens' prior criticisms by stating, So while Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago, let's all focus on the task at hand. El-Sayed also stated that the ad was not made by his campaign and that I do not agree with the contents of that ad.

That leaves Democratic strategists scrambling to mend fences in a battleground where early voting has been underway since October 24. The bitter August primary featured personal attacks and deep divisions that never healed, as some Jewish voters and leaders continued to criticize El-Sayed over his past comments on Israel and appearances with streamer Hasan Piker. Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, announced last week that he would vote for Rogers, arguing El-Sayed had not done enough to address the Jewish community's concerns.

Immediate Staff Fallout and Divergent Church Pews

The political earthquake triggered immediate internal chaos within Stevens' own professional circle. Sources told The Associated Press that her longtime chief of staff resigned following her visit to Perfecting Church, with several other staff members expected to follow. While Stevens swayed in the pews alongside Rogers and his wife Kristi, El-Sayed worshipped a few miles away at another church alongside Dingell, Clyburn, Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks, and state Senator Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary before voting began.

El-Sayed spoke for nearly 10 minutes at his church service but did not address the controversy, telling the congregation, It's in churches like this, in pews like the ones in which you sit, that the foundation of my life was built. Meanwhile, Stevens defended her pivot away from the nominee in a video posted to X, stating, Who we are as Michiganders is not hate and is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now.

For voters navigating the final days of the campaign in Wayne and Oakland counties, the late-stage drama complicates choices in a high-stakes legislative battle.

Party Leadership Responses and the Closing Battleground Message

Top Democrats tried to project calm despite the unprecedented breach. Rep. Debbie Dingell had earlier rallied the caucus with the refrain, United we stand, divided we fall, while insisting the party remains united behind El-Sayed. El-Sayed, a former public health official, would be the country's first Muslim senator if elected.

Stevens herself had signaled fierce independence late last Friday, writing in a statement, Whenever anyone tries to set us against each other, we have an obligation to stand up and fight back, before concluding with a simple Go vote! Her endorsement of Rogers represents a blow to El-Sayed's closing argument just days before the election.