Rep. Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race after rift with Democratic nominee

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens on Sunday endorsed former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan's U.S. Senate race. She backed him over Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who narrowly beat her in the August primary, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and CBS Philadelphia.

The Inquirer described the race as Republicans' best opportunity to flip a Senate seat. The endorsement came two days before Election Day.

Stevens announced her decision while standing beside Rogers outside a Black church in Detroit after the two attended Sunday services, the Inquirer reported. She said El-Sayed had shut her out of his campaign. "Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign, that he didn't need me there, that he didn't want me there," she said.

According to the Inquirer's account, which drew on interviews with more than a dozen people, the two had appeared together at a unity breakfast shortly after the primary. After that, they had little contact. Stevens and others told the paper she was never invited to campaign with El-Sayed.

The Inquirer reported that the dispute centered on U.S. policy toward Israel. El-Sayed has become one of his party's most prominent critics of Israel. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supported Stevens, spent at least $30 million against El-Sayed in the primary, the paper reported.

Tensions rose in late October. Stevens called on El-Sayed to disavow an ad from a supportive political action committee. She called the ad antisemitic because it linked U.S. support for Israel to high grocery prices. The Inquirer reported that Stevens' fiance, Jason Turkish, endorsed Rogers last Wednesday.

Rep. Debbie Dingell then worked to repair the relationship, according to the Inquirer. She arranged for Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina to invite both candidates to a Detroit church on Sunday.

On Friday, Stevens issued a statement that reignited the dispute. In it, she also asked El-Sayed to apologize for past remarks about Israel and to remove a campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson. El-Sayed then told reporters he no longer wanted Stevens to join him at the church event, the Inquirer reported.

The Inquirer reported that El-Sayed's campaign believed no concession would satisfy Stevens, according to one campaign official.

Stevens faced criticism from fellow Democrats after the endorsement. Lonnie Scott, a longtime Michigan Democratic operative, told the paper: "It is definitely not ideal that we'd be talking about Haley Stevens three days out from an election."

CBS Philadelphia reported that the rift had become a central issue in the final days of the campaign.

Compiled by True News from reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer and CBS Philadelphia. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/687