Politics

Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race, two days before midterms

Detroit, Michigan • November 1, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: a large brick church in Detroit on a bright Sunday morning in autumn, with people walking up the steps

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens stunned her party on Sunday by endorsing Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — the rival who narrowly beat her in Michigan's August primary — two days before the November 3 midterm election that will decide control of Congress.

Stevens appeared with Rogers at a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit on Sunday morning, then announced her endorsement in a video posted on social media. “Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” she said. “And he's right. And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

The endorsement caps a bitter falling-out between the two Democrats. Stevens, a staunch supporter of Israel, had demanded that El-Sayed condemn an ad by an independent group that blamed high grocery prices in the United States on Israel. She had been scheduled to appear with El-Sayed on Sunday alongside South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, but was uninvited from the joint event — and instead showed up at a different Detroit church with Rogers.

Standing beside Rogers after the service, Stevens insisted she was not leaving her party. “I'm not turning my back on Democrats. It is this one vote,” she told reporters. Rogers said he was “honored” by her support.

The backlash inside her own camp was swift. Her longtime chief of staff, Justin German, said he and “many members” of her team resigned ahead of the endorsement, and urged voters to back El-Sayed and Democrats up and down the ballot. German said he was “shocked and heartbroken” by her decision.

El-Sayed, campaigning in Detroit with Clyburn and Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, brushed the episode aside and steered reporters back to kitchen-table issues. “I'm a lot more focused on the 9,999,998,” he said of Michigan's roughly 10 million residents. “They pay too much in gas. They pay too much in groceries.” Asked about Stevens, he added: “I actually don't think about Haley Stevens.”

President Donald Trump, campaigning in Iowa on Sunday, called the endorsement “a big move” and praised Stevens' “bravery,” saying he had called her to thank her and would love to have her join the Republican Party. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had sent Stevens a note saying “she's standing for truth.”

The race is for the open seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, and it is one of the contests that could determine control of the Senate in the final two years of Trump's presidency. Recent polling averages compiled by RealClearPolitics put El-Sayed ahead of Rogers by about 3.5 percentage points, within striking distance in a race where more than 2 million Michigan voters had already cast early ballots before Sunday's split.

Sources: Associated Press (Nov. 1, 2026); USA Today (Nov. 1, 2026); The Detroit News via USA Today Network (Nov. 1, 2026).