Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed his Republican rival, Mike Rogers, in an extraordinary rebuke of her party’s nominee on the eve of the midterm elections.
Her endorsement came in a video posted to X after she attended an event with Rogers at the predominantly Black Perfecting church in Detroit on Sunday. The event marks a stunning political moment in Michigan, where control of the seat could be crucial to Democratic party.
Stevens had lost by a close margin in this year’s primary, and for months had refused to openly back El-Sayed, as had his other opponent Mallory McMorrow. But top Democrats had brokered the truce between El-Sayed and Stevens. After the two had sparred viciously in the primary campaign Stevens extended him a tepid endorsement, and this weekend was scheduled to join El-Sayed at a predominantly Black church in Detroit’s North End.
Those plans have quickly unraveled over an issue that divided Stevens and El-Sayed perhaps more than any other: Israel.
Later last week, Stevens, a staunch supporter of Israel, made clear that her appearance alongside El-Sayed was preconditioned on his denouncing of an outside group’s campaign ad that had blamed US support of Israel for the rising cost of living. El-Sayed declined the request, accusing Stevens of needlessly reopening debates from a settled primary.
As the feud escalated, El-Sayed’s campaign went further, formally disinviting Stevens from his campaign events in the closing days of the campaign. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan congresswoman, later told CNN she had been the one to tell Stevens “this isn’t working” when it came to Stevens’ appearance with El-Sayed on Sunday. Dingell added that the tensions between the two were a distraction and that “there’s nothing to be gained by the two of them being in the same place”.
Earlier on Sunday Stevens had put out a statement that said she expected El-Sayed to win and telling people to vote. But just hours later she appeared with Donald Trump’s Senate pick and in one comment said she supported Rogers’ purported future investment in Black businesses.
As the vicious political firestorm has unfolded, Democratic commentators have also pointed out that Stevens’ fiance, Jason Turkish, has been condemning El-Sayed publicly while supporting Rogers. Turkish, who is also vocally pro-Israel, has donated heavily to Democrats in the past, but this year also donated to Republican candidates including Susan Collins.
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