Democrats Turn on Haley Stevens After She Backs Republican Mike Rogers, and Schumer Leads the Pile-On
The fallout from Rep. Haley Stevens' endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers is spreading fast through the Democratic Party, and it is reaching all the way to the top.
Stevens, the Michigan Democrat who narrowly lost her party's August Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, announced on Sunday that she would back Rogers in Tuesday's election. She made the announcement after attending a Sunday service with Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit.
"Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome on his campaign and that I should stay away," Stevens said. "And he's right," she added, before telling the crowd she was supporting Rogers for the United States Senate.
Party Leaders Pile On
The reaction from her own side was swift. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who had once backed Stevens in the primary, condemned the move. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel also blasted the decision as party officials scrambled to contain the damage in the final hours of the campaign.
The criticism from the activist left was even harsher. David Hogg called Stevens a "traitor" and demanded that Democrats who had supported her publicly denounce the congresswoman. Streamer Hasan Piker attacked her motives and accused her of being too focused on Israel. Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks, whose Rebellion PAC produced the ad at the center of the feud, piled on as well.
The turmoil reached her own office. Stevens' longtime chief of staff resigned after the endorsement, and more departures were reportedly expected.
How It Came to This
The rupture did not happen overnight. Stevens had been scheduled to attend a separate church event with El-Sayed and other progressive Democrats before those plans changed. Rep. Debbie Dingell said Stevens was asked not to come after tension over her appearance became a distraction. El-Sayed's campaign had also asked her to stay away from its remaining events through Election Day.
The deeper dispute centered on an outside ad linking American support for Israel to higher grocery prices. Stevens called it antisemitic and demanded that El-Sayed condemn it. His campaign stressed that it did not make the spot. El-Sayed later said he disagreed with its content but objected to repeated demands to condemn the words of outside supporters.
Stevens was not the first person in her circle to cross over. Her fiancé, attorney Jason Turkish, had already said he would vote for Rogers, citing El-Sayed's rhetoric on Israel. Her former campaign chairman, David Kramer, made the same choice before she did.
Republicans See an Opening
Republicans welcomed the endorsement as proof that Rogers is drawing support beyond the GOP's base. Rogers, a former congressman and House Intelligence Committee chairman, came within roughly 19,000 votes of winning Michigan's Senate race in 2024.
President Trump praised Stevens at a Sunday rally and said he would welcome her switching parties entirely. Stevens has not announced any such move, and she remains a Democrat.
El-Sayed largely brushed off questions, saying his campaign was focused on Michigan voters and the cost of living. A former Wayne County health director from the party's far-left wing, he narrowly defeated Stevens in August.
The timing limits the impact in one respect. More than 1.8 million Michigan voters had already cast ballots by Monday morning. Still, Rogers now heads into the final hours with a high-profile Democrat in his corner, and the episode has exposed a party divided between its traditional wing and its activist left.
For many Michigan voters, the question is simple: if Democrats cannot keep their own team together, why should anyone trust them with a Senate seat? Tuesday will deliver the answer.