Stevens Defends Backing Republican Rogers in Michigan Senate Race

Stevens published a lengthy statement on X on November 2, two days after endorsing Rogers, the Republican candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat. She said the move followed a decision of conscience and insisted she had made it herself. Stevens lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August but said she remained a Democrat.

Stevens Abandons Democratic Senate Nominee for Trump-Backed Rogers

Stevens used a lengthy November 2 statement to justify her decision to support Rogers, the Republican candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat, instead of Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. She said the choice was her own and rejected claims that her fiancé had influenced it. Her endorsement came two days before the midterm elections, after she had lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August.

The reversal drew sharp criticism from Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement a betrayal, and several members of Stevens’ congressional staff resigned. Stevens argued that her party was punishing dissent rather than asking why a longtime Democrat had reached this point.

She criticized El-Sayed’s campaign, including an outside-group ad connecting grocery prices to U.S. support for Israel and a campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson. She also objected to El-Sayed’s association with streamer Hasan Piker, while acknowledging that El-Sayed had condemned Piker’s comparison involving Jewish voters and a Ku Klux Klan neighborhood.

Stevens said she considered El-Sayed unfit for the Senate and hoped Rogers would put country before party. Her defense does not erase the central fact: a Democrat who once opposed another “MAGA senator” chose to back the Republican in a closely watched Senate contest. A poll released November 1 showed Rogers trailing El-Sayed by 11 percentage points.

Stevens Says Democrats Punished Her for Following Her Conscience

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens says her party’s response to her endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers shows how quickly it turns on members who break ranks. In a statement published November 2, Stevens defended backing Rogers for Michigan’s Senate seat over Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat who defeated her in the August primary.

Stevens said the decision was hers, not her fiancé’s, and described it as a matter of conscience. She accused Democratic leaders of condemning her instead of considering why a longtime party member had decided El-Sayed should not serve in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called her endorsement a betrayal, while several staff members resigned.

Her objections included an outside-group ad linking grocery prices to U.S. support for Israel, a campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson, and El-Sayed’s association with streamer Hasan Piker. Stevens acknowledged that El-Sayed had condemned Piker’s comparison involving outreach to Jewish voters and a Ku Klux Klan neighborhood, but said the association still raised concerns about his judgment.

Stevens said she hoped Rogers would serve in the tradition of John McCain and put country ahead of party. Her case is that party loyalty cannot demand surrendering personal judgment; Democrats’ angry reaction, she argued, undermines their calls for inclusion and healing. A poll released November 1 showed Rogers trailing El-Sayed by 11 points.