Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate on Sunday, two days before Election Day, after sitting beside him at a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit. The Democratic Party, predictably, did not take it well.
Stevens explained exactly why she did it. She lost the August primary to Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, and his campaign told her she was no longer welcome. “As you may have seen, 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,” she said in a video posted to X. “And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”
The breaking point came Friday, when Stevens demanded El-Sayed condemn an ad from an independent left-wing group that somehow managed to tie U.S. support for Israel to high grocery prices. El-Sayed said the ad wasn’t his campaign’s and that he didn’t agree with it, but that was apparently not enough. Stevens had also grown fed up with El-Sayed’s appearances alongside Hasan Piker, a left-wing streamer, and his past remarks about a Michigan synagogue attack. “I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses,” she said flatly. You can Haley Stevens endorsement of Rogers read the full details of how this remarkable split unfolded.
Then came the pile-on, and boy was it something. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader who had actually backed Stevens in the primary, whipped around faster than a weathervane in a tornado. “This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens,” he wrote on social media. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said she had “abandoned everything she claims to care about” and then really stuck the landing: Stevens “is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.” The party of inclusion, everyone.
Stevens’ longtime chief of staff resigned, and more staff departures are expected. “We are shocked and heartbroken,” the aide said in a statement. Democrats had originally planned a big unity appearance with Stevens, El-Sayed, and Rep. Jim Clyburn at the same church, hoping to boost Black voter turnout around Detroit. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who helped organize it, said she’s the one who pulled Stevens from the event. “I’m the one who pulled it, because it had become way too distracting,” Dingell said.
Meanwhile, President Trump praised Stevens on Truth Social. “It’s a thing called bravery, and few people have it like just displayed by Congresswoman Haley Stevens!” he wrote. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke to her and “encouraged her to stay safe and keep speaking the truth.” Rogers himself called the endorsement an honor and said it was “more a statement about standing together against hate” than anything else.
El-Sayed’s response? “At the end of the day I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens,” he said. “None of this matters,” he added later. He’s running for a seat where Democrats need to win Michigan to hold the Senate, Stevens carried Wayne County and Oakland County in the primary, over 1.8 million Michiganders had already voted by Friday, and he says none of it matters. Sounds like a guy who has everything under control.
Election Day is Tuesday. Stevens says she’s still a proud Democrat who isn’t leaving her party. The Michigan Democratic Party says otherwise. Somewhere Chuck Schumer is furiously writing more posts about betrayal while his own party nominee tells Michigan voters that grocery prices are Israel’s fault.
