A top Michigan Democrat just crossed the aisle at the worst possible moment for her own party.
Rep. Haley Stevens announced Sunday that she is endorsing Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate, delivering a stunning election-eve blow to
Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
Rogers is backed by President Trump, and Michigan voters are now just two days away from choosing who will replace retiring Democrat Sen. Gary Peters.
Stevens made the break official in a direct announcement, saying El-Sayed's campaign had told her she was no longer welcome.
This goes far beyond a quiet protest vote. A sitting Democratic congresswoman is publicly telling Michigan that her own party's nominee does not deserve her support.
The Associated Press reports that Stevens endorsed Rogers after attending church with him in Detroit. Democrats had planned to showcase unity on Sunday, but the event collapsed amid renewed fighting between Stevens and El-Sayed over Israel, controversial campaign allies and the treatment of Black and Jewish voters.
Stevens had narrowly lost the August Democratic primary to El-Sayed and initially pledged to help him in the general election.
The reversal immediately shook her political operation. Her longtime chief of staff resigned, and other staff departures were expected, according to the report.
Michigan Democratic leaders denounced her decision, but Stevens said she was not leaving the party. She described the endorsement as one vote based on leadership and integrity.
The public split was visible Sunday morning when Stevens joined Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit.
Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers appearing with Democrat U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens at Perfecting Church in Detroit pic.twitter.com/Jxg5cEufV1
— Sam Robinson (@samueljrob) November 1, 2026
Axios reports that Stevens' appearance was arranged at the last minute after she and Rogers spoke Sunday morning. The endorsement gives Rogers a powerful closing argument as Republicans work to win over Black and Jewish voters in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.
The rupture had been building for days. Stevens had pressed El-Sayed to condemn an outside group's advertisement blaming U.S. support for Israel for higher grocery prices.
She also objected to his campaign's use of footage featuring Tucker Carlson and criticized his association with streamer Hasan Piker. El-Sayed rejected the outside advertisement's message but accused Stevens of trying to relitigate their primary.
Stevens also used her church appearance to point to Rogers' support for Black-owned businesses, framing her decision around policy as well as the bitter intraparty fight.
Stevens says she’s for investing in Black owned businesses. “And that’s the policy that Mike’s going to take on,” Stevens says. pic.twitter.com/AdPPFxGyEC
— Sam Robinson (@samueljrob) November 1, 2026
FOX 2 Detroit reports that Stevens said she made the decision Sunday morning and wanted to be honest about where her heart was. She said most of her ballot would still go to Democrats, but her Senate vote would go to Rogers.
Rogers responded that he was honored to have earned her support and emphasized that she remains a Democrat.
Michigan has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in decades. Rogers now enters the final stretch with the endorsement Democrats least expected: the woman who nearly became their nominee.
For voters who have watched the Democratic Party's internal fights over Israel, radical activists and its increasingly hostile left wing, Stevens' decision is a remarkable warning from inside the house.
Stevens moved from criticism to action. She put her name, reputation and vote behind the Trump-backed Republican trying to defeat him.
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