Haley Stevens Endorses Mike Rogers: Democrat Backs Republican in Michigan Senate Race Two Days Before Election Day

DETROIT — Rep. Haley Stevens, the Democrat who lost Michigan's Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, on Sunday, two days before an Election Day that could decide control of the U.S. Senate. Stevens, who called herself "a very proud Democrat," announced the switch in a social media video after appearing with Rogers at a service at Perfecting Church on Detroit's east side, instead of the joint campaign event with El-Sayed and Rep. James Clyburn she had been scheduled to attend, USA TODAY reported.

"I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," Stevens said in the video. "This is the conscience of the Senate right now and our Michigan moment." She tied the break to El-Sayed's campaigning with streamer Hasan Piker and to an outside political action committee ad she had publicly asked him to condemn on Oct. 30; El-Sayed's campaign had asked her not to attend its final events. Rogers, standing with her, said he was proud to earn her vote: "Candidly, I'm glad I'm not running against Haley Stevens today." El-Sayed dismissed the alliance, telling reporters, "I actually don't think about Haley Stevens."

The fallout inside Stevens's own party was immediate. Her chief of staff and communications director resigned, the Wall Street Journal reported, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement "a despicable betrayal," while retiring Sen. Gary Peters — whose seat El-Sayed and Rogers are contesting — said he was "extremely disappointed." Democrats hold the seat, so a loss in Michigan would mean they need to flip five states instead of four on Tuesday to take the Senate; more than two million Michiganders, about 29 percent of active registered voters, have already voted.