Stevens Endorses Rogers in Michigan Senate Race; Democratic Leaders Condemn Move, Trump Praises It

Rep. Haley Stevens$, the Michigan Democrat who lost her party's August Senate primary, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers$ on Sunday, Nov. 1, two days before Election Day, over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. She announced the decision in a video posted on X after attending a church service in Detroit with Rogers. Democratic leaders, her own chief of staff and her communications director, and Sen. Bernie Sanders$ criticized the move; President Donald Trump praised it. The dispute grew out of a weeks-long disagreement over Israel, an outside group's advertisement, and whether criticism of Israel's government and of U.S. aid to Israel amounts to antisemitism. This article covers Sunday's events and the reactions they drew; 567 Politics' news report on the endorsement covers the polls and the Axios and NBC News accounts of how it came together. For the lead-up, including the Oct. 30 exchange of statements, see 567 Politics' earlier report on the rift between El-Sayed and Stevens in the final weekend.

What Stevens said

Stevens, a member of the U.S. House from Michigan who will leave Congress in January because her Senate bid precluded a House re-election run, explained her decision in a video on X. "Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away," she said, according to Al Jazeera. "And he's right. And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today." USA Today quotes her saying, "I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," and, "This is the conscience of the Senate right now and our Michigan moment."

She added to the case in a news conference alongside Rogers. "We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hasan Piker," she said, according to Al Jazeera. USA Today quotes her as saying, "I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses," and, "What our students see, what our children see and who we are as Michiganders is not hate, and is not what we're getting out from our Democratic nominee right now." Piker is a political streamer, whom USA Today also describes as a Twitch streamer, and El-Sayed has campaigned with him, according to USA Today.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Stevens said, "This is just a weight off my shoulders, okay? Abdul has been getting angrier and angrier," USA Today reports. Al Jazeera quotes her adding, "I'm trying to help the Democratic Party," and reports that she said she remains a Democrat and plans to vote for Democratic candidates in 90 percent of the races on her ballot. Al Jazeera reports that she said her office is "in a transition" when asked whether House staff had resigned.

Rogers, a former U.S. representative who is the Republican nominee, responded on X that evening:

View this post on X

"I'm honored to earn Congresswoman Stevens' endorsement and her vote," he wrote. He said El-Sayed "continued to run a campaign based on hate" after having "every opportunity to welcome her into his campaign," and that Stevens "showed courage and bravery in putting Michigan first." At the news conference, USA Today reports, he said, "Candidly, I'm glad I'm not running against Haley Stevens today." Some Democrats said Stevens had told them as recently as Oct. 31 that she planned to support El-Sayed, USA Today reports. Former Rep. Susan Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat who previously lived with Stevens, told the paper that Stevens had told House Democrats she planned to "lay low" and skip the El-Sayed event.

The disagreement behind it

El-Sayed won the Aug. 4 primary narrowly. Al Jazeera describes him as an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza and of U.S. military aid to Israel, and Stevens as a strong supporter of Israel. The latest dispute began the week before Election Day, when Rebellion PAC, an independent group backing El-Sayed that was founded by commentator Cenk Uygur, Piker's uncle, released an advertisement linking U.S. aid to Israel to Americans' cost-of-living pressures. In the ad, according to Al Jazeera, a couple shopping for groceries put back a carton of eggs because they need to save money for "killing Palestinians." USA Today reports that the ad ends with images of Israel's prime minister and two allies as a narrator says, "Mike Rogers is for they/them."

Stevens called the ad anti-Semitic and demanded that El-Sayed condemn it, Al Jazeera reports. Al Jazeera adds that she accused him of making similar arguments by suggesting that money spent on Israel could instead go toward schools, health care and child care. El-Sayed said his campaign did not produce the ad and that he disagreed with its message, and he accused Stevens of re-litigating the primary, according to Al Jazeera. USA Today reports that Stevens said the campaign's statement that it had nothing to do with the ad did not go far enough, and that she called on him to apologize for his own rhetoric criticizing U.S. funding for Israel. USA Today also reports that El-Sayed accused her of "relitigating" the primary.

The sequence of events on Saturday, Oct. 31, is covered in a separate 567 Politics report that cites MLive. According to that report, El-Sayed said after an event in Sterling Heights, "I do not agree with the contents of that ad," and Stevens said that night that she was "glad to see our senate nominee say he does not agree with the content of the vile Rebellion PAC ad." The endorsement followed on Sunday. 567 Politics did not independently open the MLive article.

El-Sayed's own words on antisemitism, from an August statement quoted by USA Today: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters. Antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms. And while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we're going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools, and healthcare."

Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and civil rights lawyer according to Al Jazeera and a Democratic megadonor according to USA Today, announced in late October that he would vote for Rogers. Al Jazeera reports that he accused El-Sayed of antisemitism, saying his rhetoric about Israel and the Gaza war had made Jewish voters feel unsafe; El-Sayed's campaign has not agreed with that characterization in the statements 567 Politics reviewed. Al Jazeera, citing Federal Election Commission reports, says Turkish donated nearly $250,000 to Democrats and Republicans this midterm cycle.

How El-Sayed responded

Speaking to reporters at a press conference outside a rally he held Sunday, the same rally Stevens had been disinvited from attending, El-Sayed said, according to the Guardian: "At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens. I'm just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all." USA Today quotes the same remarks with an additional line about "the 9,999,998 people who are not those two." The Guardian also quotes him: "If you are somebody who believes that we should stand up to hate, and you have watched this last campaign, I think we probably would not want to support Mike Rogers and Donald Trump and JD Vance."$

Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who helped organize the planned joint event, told the Associated Press, as quoted by Al Jazeera, that she was the one who asked Stevens not to attend because "it had become way too distracting." After Stevens' CNN interview, Dingell told CNN, "That is one of the most painful interviews I have ever watched. I have been worried about her all last week, she's a human being." USA Today quotes Dingell on the voters' priorities: "They want leaders focused on making their lives more affordable. That's what they're talking about, not Congressman Stevens' continued efforts to get attention."$

Democratic reaction

Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, called the endorsement a "despicable betrayal" and said Senate Democrats remain "united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed," according to the Guardian and Al Jazeera. In the same statement, as the Guardian prints it, he described Republican attacks on El-Sayed as "racist, Islamophobic, and over-the-top false attacks." USA Today notes that Schumer said in June he thought Stevens had the best chance of beating Rogers.$

Sanders, an independent from Vermont, posted on X:

View this post on X

He wrote: "Rep. Haley Stevens' staff is right to resign in disgust. They understand that the election in Michigan is far more important than Haley's fragile ego and that all of us must stand together to elect Abdul, defeat Rogers and end the Republican rubber-stamp control of the Senate."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Stevens had "betrayed" working-class people "by endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run against," according to the Guardian. The Democratic National Committee's chair said the endorsement "is a betrayal of the values of the Democratic Party," per Al Jazeera. The state party's chair said Stevens' decision "shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about," and wrote on social media that she "is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future." The statement as published also called Rogers a man who "wants to pass a national abortion ban"; 567 Politics did not verify that characterization and attributes it to the party chair.

Stevens' chief of staff of eight years, Justin German, and communications director Logan Basch were among those who resigned, according to CNN's Manu Raju as relayed by the Guardian. German said in a statement that the team is "shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens' decision to support Mike Rogers." The California governor, appearing on a political talk show, said Stevens "went another 180 degrees overnight, so something was going on there," the Guardian reports.

IfNotNow, MPower Action and Our Revolution called on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to "expel" Stevens from the Democratic caucus and "strip her of her committee assignments," Al Jazeera reports. House Democratic Caucus rules say that to "maintain membership" a member "shall not participate in campaign activities for any candidate in a partisan federal election who is not a Member of the Democratic Party." Jeffries' office did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Al Jazeera notes that Republicans hold the House 218 to 214 and that removing a Democrat would leave one fewer Democratic vote, which could make it slightly easier for Republicans to pass legislation until the new Congress is sworn in. Al Jazeera adds that Democrats return to Washington the week after Election Day.$

Republican reaction

Trump wrote "Wow, this is BIG!" on social media and told a rally in Iowa that "Haley said what few people are willing to say. It's a thing called bravery," and that he would "love" for her to join the Republican Party, per Al Jazeera and the Guardian. USA Today quotes him calling her "a Highly Respected Democrat." The House speaker, who traveled with Trump to Iowa, said he sent Stevens a note about her "courageous" endorsement and that she "is speaking the truth," according to Al Jazeera. USA Today says Trump has "repeatedly attacked El-Sayed on the campaign trail and accused him without evidence of embracing extremism."

Jason Roe, a Michigan Republican strategist, told USA Today that El-Sayed's "defiant" statement contributed to the breakdown: "For all the attacks on Haley for this decision, I don't see anybody blaming Abdul. He had the endorsement. He fumbled this whole thing. He mismanaged it."

The wider argument about Israel and antisemitism

The dispute has become a proxy for a broader debate in the Democratic Party about how to distinguish criticism of Israel's government from hostility toward Jews, and about how to treat figures such as Piker. Several people involved put their positions on X.

Piker posted late Sunday (9:25 p.m. ET):

View this post on X

"there is no comparison between the way mike rogers has talked about all muslims and arabs vs the way abdul has spoken abt jewish michiganders. abdul has been kind courteous and actively spoken against hatred of all forms. anti israel sentiment is not anti semitic," and described it as "the most popular position" among Democrats. He also criticized what he called the "media narrative trying to find some kind of parity." 567 Politics did not find a poll in the sources it opened that supports or contradicts the statement that this is the most popular position among Democrats; the claim is Piker's.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald posted on Monday (1:08 p.m. ET) that "the same script that they're using against El-Sayed was used, verbatim, against Mamdani," and that "both Mamdani and El-Sayed deploy a much more America First worldview than Mike Rogers: let's stop sending our money to Israel and fighting wars for them so we can put that money into our own communities."

View this post on X

Writer Mehdi Hasan posted on Monday (1:09 p.m. ET) that it was "hilarious that she accuses El-Sayed of being 'obsessive' with Israel and then cites as her reasons for un-endorsing him… Gaza and Iran."

View this post on X

Stevens and her supporters describe the issue differently. In her statements as quoted above, she frames her position as opposition to "hate" and says the ad and El-Sayed's remarks on aid cross a line. Turkish argues that El-Sayed's rhetoric has made Jewish voters feel unsafe. Uygur wrote on X on Monday that CNN's coverage of El-Sayed was unfair. Neither side's characterization of El-Sayed's remarks is independently verified here; this article reports only what each person said.

Money and outside spending

Al Jazeera reports that a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) "spent tens of millions of dollars" backing Stevens in the primary. 567 Politics did not open the underlying Federal Election Commission filings for that spending and relies on Al Jazeera's account.

567 Politics reviewed Stevens' campaign-committee filings. The platform's FEC snapshot for the 2026 cycle (candidate H8MI11254, committee C00638650, retrieved Oct. 31, 2026) lists $10,000, in two transactions, from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's political action committee, which the platform's Israel-related topic registry covers (the registry is partial). The snapshot covers registered committee receipts on line F3-11C. It excludes individual donations and independent spending and is not a career total. U.S. pro-Israel PAC money is not money from the Israeli government, and a contribution does not by itself show that a donor controls a lawmaker's positions. See Stevens' profile for her record.

For El-Sayed and Rogers, the platform has no verified FEC snapshot, so this article makes no claims about their fundraising. It does not verify the filings of Rebellion PAC, whose ad is central to the dispute.

The race and what remains uncertain

Early voting began Oct. 24, before the latest dispute, according to Al Jazeera, which also reports that Reuters said polling suggests El-Sayed had largely consolidated Democratic support. Stevens defeated El-Sayed in Wayne and Oakland counties in the primary, Al Jazeera reports, drawing support from Black and Jewish Democratic voters; turnout in those counties could help determine the result. Republicans hold the Senate 53-47, USA Today reports. Seat control for the next Congress could turn on Michigan's result, which is why Democrats had worked to unify around the nominee.

567 Politics' race page displays prices from prediction-market contracts. These are traders' prices, not vote shares or polls, and each source's timestamp differs, so several of the figures below predate Sunday's endorsement.

Unresolved questions as of Monday evening include whether House Democrats will remove Stevens from the caucus when they return and whether her endorsement changes votes in Wayne and Oakland counties. The final national polls give the national backdrop.

Differing perspectives

How should voters and Democrats weigh Stevens' endorsement and the dispute over Israel-related campaign messaging?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• Criticism of Israel is not antisemitism

  Who holds it: Hasan Piker; Mehdi Hasan; Glenn Greenwald

  Piker says there is "no comparison" between how Rogers has talked about Muslims and Arabs and how El-Sayed has spoken about Jewish Michiganders, and that "anti israel sentiment is not anti semitic." He calls the media effort to find parity unfair. Hasan and Greenwald argue the attacks on El-Sayed repeat those aimed at Zohran Mamdani and that Stevens' stated reasons center on Gaza and Iran.

  In their words: Hasan Piker on X, Nov. 1, 2026 ↗

• Israel rhetoric raises safety concerns

  Who holds it: Haley Stevens; Jason Turkish

  Stevens says she cannot stand with hate and called the Rebellion PAC ad anti-Semitic, demanding that El-Sayed condemn it. She also criticized his association with Piker. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, says El-Sayed's rhetoric about Israel and the Gaza war has made Jewish voters feel unsafe. Al Jazeera reports both positions; El-Sayed's campaign disputes the characterization.

  In their words: Al Jazeera, Nov. 1, 2026 ↗

• Keep the focus on policy

  Who holds it: Abdul El-Sayed

  El-Sayed says he does not think about Stevens and is "less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all." He says his campaign did not make the Rebellion PAC ad and he disagrees with its message. In an August statement he said antisemitism "is a scourge" that must be addressed "in all its forms," and that he will talk about gas, groceries, schools and healthcare.

  In their words: USA Today, Nov. 1, 2026 ↗

• Unite behind El-Sayed

  Who holds it: Chuck Schumer; the Democratic National Committee chair; the Michigan Democratic Party chair

  Schumer calls the endorsement a "despicable betrayal" and says Senate Democrats are "united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed." The Michigan party chair says Stevens "has abandoned everything she claims to care about" and that the party will not allow "eleventh-hour distractions" to derail it. Schumer also describes Republican attacks on El-Sayed as "racist" and "Islamophobic."

  In their words: The Guardian, Nov. 1, 2026 ↗

• Welcome the endorsement

  Who holds it: Mike Rogers; Haley Stevens

  Rogers says Stevens "showed courage and bravery in putting Michigan first" and that El-Sayed, after her endorsement of him, "continued to run a campaign based on hate." He says he and Stevens agree on supporting minority businesses, investing in Michigan and fixing education, and he asks Democrats who share those goals to back him. Stevens says El-Sayed's campaign told her she was unwelcome.

  In their words: Mike Rogers on X, Nov. 1, 2026 ↗