Michigan Democrat Stevens endorses Republican Rogers in Senate race

A Democratic congresswoman from Michigan endorsed the Republican candidate for the state's US Senate seat on Sunday, days before a midterm election that will settle which party controls Congress.

Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic nomination to Abdul El-Sayed earlier this year, appeared alongside Mike Rogers at a church service and then announced her support in a video posted to X. "I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," she said, adding that Michigan was "not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now". She said: "That's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers."

Speaking to reporters after the service, Stevens said El-Sayed had told her she was not welcome in his campaign, did not need her and did not want her there. The two had been scheduled to appear together at a different event on Sunday; the BBC reported that El-Sayed asked her not to come.

The pair had clashed publicly over an advertisement from an outside liberal group that blamed Israel for high food prices. El-Sayed criticised the advert and said he had nothing to do with its contents.

Asked about the endorsement, El-Sayed told reporters he was concentrating on the problems facing Michigan residents. "At the end of the day I don't think about Haley Stevens," he said. "None of this matters."

Rogers, in brief remarks to reporters outside the church, welcomed the endorsement and described it as an act of courage.

The Democratic response was swift. Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said in a statement that Stevens' decision "shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about", and that the party rejected attempts by "Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide our party and undermine our momentum". State Senator Mallory McMorrow told CNN: "I have no idea what the hell Haley Stevens is doing." Several of Stevens' staff resigned immediately after the announcement, according to the BBC.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, said the party was firmly behind El-Sayed without naming Stevens. "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," he said.

El-Sayed, a former public health official and the son of Egyptian immigrants, beat Stevens, a more centrist congresswoman backed during the primary by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, after a bitter nominating contest.

Analysts rank the Michigan contest among the closest of Tuesday's midterms. The seat is being vacated by a retiring Democrat, and no Republican has won it since 1994. Michigan voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and for Donald Trump in 2024.