Chuck Schumer is having a very bad week. A wave of Democratic politicians, from Michigan city councilwomen to U.S. senators, are publicly abandoning far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and lining up behind Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers instead, and they’re not being quiet about it. Nor should they, because El-Sayed is about as bad as it gets.
Democrat City Councilwoman Mary Waters sat down with the New York Post and basically told Democratic voters to split their ballots for Rogers. “There are a number of people that don’t even know that they can split their ballot in the general election,” Waters said. She added, “Please don’t feel as though that you cannot, if you liked Mike Rogers, that you cannot vote for him. You can, if you want to.” Then, keeping absolutely no one in suspense, she said, “I won’t say who I’ll be voting for, but I will be splitting my ticket.” Very mysterious, Mary. Very mysterious.
Waters was joining Michigan’s Haley Stevens, who had already refused to back El-Sayed and endorsed Rogers outright in a move that reportedly had Michigan Senate race endorsements Schumer fuming and raging online. That image alone is worth the price of admission.
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman piled on too, backing Stevens and unloading on El-Sayed with characteristic bluntness. “Rep. Haley Stevens simply held Abdul El-Sayed accountable for his views on Israel and fixation with Jewish money,” Fetterman said. “El-Sayed is going after a woman and banning her from campaign events for having an opinion. El-Sayed’s overreaction demonstrates why he struggles with groups of Michigan voters. He has the worst case of little man syndrome I’ve ever seen.” When John Fetterman is calling you unhinged, it might be time to do some soul-searching.
Former West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin also made his feelings plain. I do support Mike Rogers,” Manchin told the New York Post. “I think Mike Rogers is a good person. I think he’ll do a great job.” Former Democratic Rep. Hansen Clarke, state Rep. Karen Whitsett, prominent fundraiser David Kramer, who served as finance chairman for Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Stevens, also joined the exodus away from El-Sayed.
Rogers acknowledged the growing coalition with characteristic confidence. “Haley Stevens is not the first one to do this. She may be the most prominent one,” he said, calling her move an act of “courage and bravery.” He also pointed to a Democrat County Sheriff who publicly said El-Sayed’s position on defunding the police is “so extreme” they couldn’t support him. “The list continues,” Rogers said. “This is a pattern. When you have that many people out on him, people start to listen.”
Rogers heads toward Election Day with Democrats actively recruiting their own voters to pull the lever for him, which is not exactly the endorsement structure Schumer had in mind when he backed El-Sayed. If this keeps up, Chuck might want to lie down in a dark room for a while.
