Two days before Michigan voters choose their next senator, Representative Haley Stevens broke with her own party. On Sunday, Stevens appeared alongside Republican nominee Mike Rogers at a news conference in Detroit and endorsed him over Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who had defeated her in August's primary.

The endorsement followed a public dispute in the final days of the campaign, in which Stevens called on El-Sayed to denounce an outside group's advertisement and El-Sayed accused her of trying to relitigate a primary that ended three months earlier. Stevens called on El-Sayed to denounce an advertisement from an outside group that linked U.S. military aid to Israel to rising grocery prices, which she called antisemitic. El-Sayed's campaign said it did not produce the ad and that he disagreed with its message, and he accused Stevens of trying to relitigate a primary that ended three months earlier. Stevens, for her part, said her decision was not a break with Democrats generally. "I'm not turning my back on Democrats," she said in defending the endorsement.

The fallout was immediate. Justin German, Stevens's chief of staff for eight years, said in a statement that he and many members of her congressional staff had resigned. Michigan Representative Debbie Dingell, a fellow Democrat, said it was "painful to watch" Stevens defend the move. El-Sayed brushed off the endorsement on Sunday, saying he does not think about Stevens and is focused on voters and policy. His campaign said it raised more than $2.4 million that day from over 65,000 donors, its largest single-day total. The two had largely split over Israel during the campaign.

Stevens's turn toward Rogers followed private conversations in the race's final days, including with Democratic figures who tried to keep her in the party's corner. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly made an effort to intervene that did not succeed, according to Politico.

Rogers, a former Republican member of Congress who represented Michigan's 8th District from 2001 to 2015 and chaired the House Intelligence Committee from 2011 to 2015, is the party's nominee for the seat. President Trump praised Stevens for backing Rogers, telling a rally in Iowa on Sunday that he would love to see her join the Republican Party.

The endorsement arrived as Michigan Democrats held a unity rally elsewhere in the state, underscoring divisions within the party just as the Senate contest, one of the most closely watched in the country, heads to its conclusion on Tuesday.

References

1. 1.Washington Post — reported Stevens's endorsement of Rogers at a Detroit news conference and her prior stated preference for a Democratic Senate win
2. 2.CBS News — confirmed the Sunday announcement and the rift with El-Sayed over an advertisement
3. 3.Axios — reported the endorsement occurred two days before the election and described it as giving Rogers a notable campaign moment
4. 4.The Hill — reported on staff resignations, including chief of staff Justin German's statement backing El-Sayed, and carried Stevens's quote 'I'm not turning my back on Democrats'
5. 5.CNBC — reported President Trump's social media comments praising Stevens
6. 6.Al Jazeera — reported El-Sayed's campaign said the disputed ad was not produced by it and that Stevens was relitigating the primary
7. 7.Ballotpedia — confirmed Mike Rogers's prior service representing Michigan's 8th District from 2001 to 2015 and Michigan State Senate service
8. 8.NPR — confirmed Stevens had been scheduled to attend a unity event with El-Sayed before the endorsement
9. 9.Politico — reported on an unsuccessful intervention attempt by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
10. 10.Breitbart — reported Rep. Debbie Dingell's comment that it was 'painful to watch' Stevens defend the endorsement
11. 11.Axios — reported Mike Rogers's recent public distancing from President Trump on tariffs
12. 12.TheWrap: Stevens appeared with Mike Rogers at a Detroit press conference on Sunday (https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/haley-stevens-endorses-mike-rogers-heckled-traitor-abdul-el-sayed/); Washington Post: Stevens joined Rogers to address reporters in Detroit after she endorsed him (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/11/01/democrat-haley-stevens-praises-michigan-gop-senate-candidate-mike-rogers/)
13. 13.Bridge Michigan: Abdul El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic Senate primary over Haley Stevens, reported August 5, 2026 (https://bridgemi.com/michigan-politics/michigan-democratic-senate-primary-results-abdul-el-sayed-haley-stevens/)