Democratic Representative Haley Stevens announced a striking political shift over the weekend, crossing party lines to endorse Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s highly competitive United States Senate race. The Sunday endorsement followed Stevens’ public break with her fellow Democrat, Abdul El-Sayed, whose campaign she described as characterized by an obsessive fixation on Israel and positions she termed anti-American.
In an interview published Monday, Stevens explained that her sudden reversal came after deep reflection regarding the campaign dynamics. She told reporters that upon examining her previous stance, she realized she “wasn’t being honest” with herself in continuing to support El-Sayed.
The rupture centers heavily on foreign policy and campaign messaging. Stevens highlighted what she termed an obsessive focus on Israel by El-Sayed, pointing to specific instances during the race. Notably, El-Sayed has declined to state whether Israel or Iran represents a greater threat to the United States. Furthermore, Stevens criticized an ad released in the final weeks of the campaign by a super PAC supporting El-Sayed’s candidacy, which connected the Jewish state to rising grocery prices for American consumers.
The unexpected alignment between Stevens and Rogers materialized publicly on Sunday when the Democratic congresswoman appeared alongside the Republican Senate candidate following a church service in Detroit. Meanwhile, El-Sayed has continued his campaign trail efforts, recently rallying in Ypsilanti alongside prominent national Democrats, including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.
The late-breaking endorsement introduces a notable cross-party endorsement into an already intense Michigan Senate contest, as both campaigns make their final appeals to voters across the state.
