Dingell calls Stevens CNN interview ‘painful’ as Stevens backs Rogers

El-Sayed dismisses Stevens endorsement as something that does not matter

Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell, who also represents Michigan in the House of Representatives, described Stevens’s CNN interview performance as “painful.” Hours after the announcement, Stevens said on CNN that she was “rock solid” in her choice to back Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat. She insisted “nothing with me changed” and said, “I still love my party a whole lot.”

Stevens also said, “I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart, and that’s that.” Asked about her reasoning, she said, “I changed my mind.” Stevens said El-Sayed had told her, “Hey, I don’t need your endorsement.” She answered, “That’s fine.” She then asked, “Why the anger? Why the frustration?” Stevens did not provide a specific rationale.

The move stunned many of Stevens’s fellow party members, who condemned her decision. Fellow Democrats who had condemned the endorsement were also critical of her interview performance. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, called the endorsement “despicable betrayal.” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel wrote on X that Stevens was “not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.” Many of Stevens’s staff reportedly resigned immediately after the announcement.

In a video posted on X shortly after appearing with Rogers, Stevens said, “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign.” She said, “Who we are as Michiganders is not hate,” and, “That’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers.” Stevens also said, “This is a very close election, we all know that, but Abdul made clear that I was not welcome in his campaign, that he didn’t need me there, that he didn’t want me there.”

Republicans applauded the announcement. Rogers said Stevens’s decision showed “courage,” and President Donald Trump agreed that she had been “very brave.”

When asked about Stevens’s endorsement, El-Sayed said he was focused on the problems facing people in Michigan. “At the end of the day, I don’t think about Haley Stevens,” he said. “None of this matters.”

Stevens’s Sunday schedule initially included an event alongside El-Sayed, but she was reportedly asked by him not to come earlier in the weekend. Instead, she made a surprise appearance alongside Rogers two days before Tuesday’s midterm elections. Stevens had unsuccessfully run to become the Democratic nominee, conceded defeat to El-Sayed in a closely fought primary contest in August and then offered him her endorsement. As recently as Saturday night, CNN reported that she was sticking with the fellow Democrat and denying any suggestion that she would switch sides.

BBC News characterized the public feud between Stevens, a centrist Democrat, and El-Sayed, who represents the party’s left wing, as having boiled over in recent days. The two have clashed on issues including U.S. support for Israel. A recent advertisement from an outside liberal group linked rising U.S. prices with American support for Israel. Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn it; he said he disagreed with its contents and had nothing to do with them, a position Stevens welcomed.

BBC News described the Michigan contest as one of the most closely watched and bitter contests of the midterms. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim person ever elected to the U.S. Senate if he won. He has faced a variety of attacks from Rogers and Trump. Trump invoked 9/11 and called El-Sayed a “jihadist” without citing evidence, prompting a backlash and accusations of Islamophobia.

The seat is currently held by a Democrat. Analysts cited by BBC News said Democrats need to retain it and win a handful of Republican-held seats to gain control of the Senate and try to challenge Trump in his final two years. Michigan is considered critical to Democrats’ hopes of winning control of Congress in the midterms.