ISTANBUL
In a rare break with party unity on the eve of Tuesday’s US midterm congressional elections, US Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens on Sunday formally endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, delivering a major blow to Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed ahead of the pivotal elections.
“Abdul said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” Stevens said in a video published on US social media company X. “And he’s right, and that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign.”
Stevens stressed that she remains “a very proud Democrat,” but such a move is highly unusual, and could make her an outcast in party ranks.
El-Sayed is leading in most recent polls, but such an endorsement for his opponent from a fellow Democrat on the eve of elections might sway some voters, possibly to the point of costing him the race.
For his part, US President Donald Trump welcomed Stevens’ endorsement as “big,” praising her for showing rare “bravery” and “great and almost unprecedented loyalty” to the state.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump asserted that the congresswoman “said what few people are willing to say” by backing Rogers.
Following the endorsement announcement, Stevens’ entire official congressional staff, including her longtime chief of staff, tendered their resignations, Melissa Nann Burke, Washington bureau chief of local newspaper The Detroit News, reported, citing a spokesperson. It was not clear whether the resignations were tied to Stevens’ endorsement.
Reaffirming party support behind El-Sayed, US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer criticized attacks on the candidate, asserting that Democratic senators remain united behind his campaign.
“Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors,” Schumer said in a statement.
Israeli lobbying and attacks on El-Sayed’s faith
The crossover backing marks a dramatic escalation of intra-party fractures after Stevens made a surprise joint appearance alongside Rogers earlier Sunday in a prominent Black church in Detroit, sitting together and smiling.
This August, Stevens lost the Democratic nomination to Abdul El-Sayed during the primary contest. After her loss she had pledged to help fellow Democrat El-Sayed win Tuesday’s election, but they have not appeared publicly together besides a unity breakfast just after the primaries.
Sunday’s appearance followed public disputes between the two Democrats after Stevens demanded that El-Sayed condemn an ad by an unaffiliated political action committee (PAC) linking high grocery prices to the billions of dollars the US gives in assistance to Israel every year. She argued that El-Sayed should begin campaign finance reform “by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”
El-Sayed rejected the criticism, asserting that Stevens appeared “intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.”
Ahead of her primary contest, Stevens got unusually large donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel PAC in the United States.
The race has drawn additional attention because El-Sayed, a former public health official, would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate if he wins.
Rogers has sought to make Ed-Sayed’s faith an issue in the race, alleging that he has divided loyalties, in attacks El-Sayed’s supporters say are Islamophobic.
El-Sayed has hit back hard against the claims, pointing out that the late John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, faced similar “double loyalty” allegations when he successfully ran for president in 1960.
