Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race

DETROIT — US Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat, on Sunday endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the United States Senate in Michigan, a move that dealt a blow to the campaign of Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed two days before the midterm elections, according to Al Jazeera and the Anadolu Agency.

Stevens announced the endorsement in a video posted on X, the social media platform. "I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the US Senate. Today, I do not belong to Abdul's campaign," she said. She made the announcement after appearing alongside Rogers at a church service in Detroit earlier on Sunday, the reports said.

Stevens lost the Democratic primary in August to El-Sayed by a slim margin. According to Al Jazeera, she had been uninvited from a joint event with El-Sayed on the same day as the church appearance. In the video, Stevens said: "Who we are as Michiganders is not hate, and [that] is not what we are getting out of our Democratic nominee right now."

El-Sayed is leading in most recent polls, the Anadolu Agency reported. Its report said the endorsement could sway some voters on the eve of the vote.

US President Donald Trump welcomed the endorsement as "big" on his social media platform Truth Social. He praised Stevens for showing "bravery" and "great and almost unprecedented loyalty" to the state, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer responded in a statement. He said Senate Democrats "are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed," and called Rogers "a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors." Stevens said she remained "a very proud Democrat," according to the Anadolu Agency.

El-Sayed has not publicly responded to the endorsement in the reports reviewed. Earlier, he said Stevens appeared "intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago," the Anadolu Agency reported.

The reports also said Stevens' entire congressional staff, including her chief of staff, resigned after the endorsement. The Anadolu Agency cited a report by Melissa Nann Burke of The Detroit News, citing a spokesperson. It was not clear whether the resignations were linked to the endorsement.

Why it matters

The Michigan Senate seat is one of the contests that will help determine which party controls the US Senate after the midterms. Al Jazeera described the race as tightly contested. A split among Democrats on the eve of the vote could affect turnout and the choice of voters who backed Stevens in the primary.

The race has drawn attention to the faith of El-Sayed. According to the Anadolu Agency, El-Sayed, a former public health official, would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate if he wins. The agency reported that Rogers has sought to make El-Sayed's faith an issue, alleging he has divided loyalties. El-Sayed's supporters say those attacks are Islamophobic, the agency reported, and El-Sayed has pushed back against the claims.

Background

Stevens and El-Sayed were rivals in the Democratic primary in August 2026. Al Jazeera said Stevens lost by a slim margin. The two then held a unity breakfast after the primaries, but they had not appeared together in public since, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Public disputes between the two grew in the weeks before the endorsement. Stevens asked El-Sayed to condemn an advertisement by an unaffiliated political action committee (PAC). The ad linked high grocery prices to the billions of dollars the United States gives Israel in aid each year. Stevens argued that El-Sayed should begin campaign finance reform "by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford," the Anadolu Agency reported.

The Anadolu Agency also reported that Stevens received unusually large donations ahead of her primary from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel PAC. Its report described AIPAC as the largest pro-Israel PAC in the United States.

What happens next

The midterm elections take place on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, according to the Anadolu Agency. Voters will decide the Michigan Senate race on that day. Schumer's statement and the Democratic response to the endorsement are the next public reactions reported. The sources do not say whether Stevens will campaign for Rogers, or whether her staff departures will be explained further.