Schumer calls Stevens’ endorsement “a despicable betrayal”
The Guardian reported that Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate in the final days before Tuesday’s vote, drawing immediate backlash from members and leaders of the Democratic Party. Stevens had narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed. The endorsement came after a dispute with El-Sayed’s campaign over an outside-group advertisement that blamed the high cost of living on U.S. support for Israel.
Stevens had said she would appear at an El-Sayed campaign event if he denounced the advertisement. El-Sayed’s campaign disinvited her. In a CNN interview on Sunday evening, Stevens later refused to clearly explain what had led to her decision. CNN’s Cooper asked whether the disinvitation had triggered the endorsement; Stevens declined to answer and allowed several seconds of silence.
She said, “I’m just casting my one vote this way,” while insisting that she still wanted Democrats to win the majority on election day. Stevens also said, “I am not trying to upset anyone,” and said she was “just being honest with my constituents and what I’m hearing from people.” She said she had heard from “a ton of Dems” who did not like the campaign and considered it painful.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described the endorsement as “a despicable betrayal.” Schumer wrote, “Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors.”
California Rep. Nancy Pelosi said Stevens had “chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future with her horrific endorsement.” Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor, said “working class people’s lives are on the ballot on Tuesday” and wrote, “Haley Stevens just betrayed them by endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run against.”
Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Stevens was not a member of the party “nor will she be in the future.” Responding to Detroit journalist Sam Robinson, Hertel said, “Obviously there are sour grapes from the election, but there is no reasonable explanation for this.” He said he had known Stevens for a long time and described the endorsement as the opposite of what she had fought for in her career.
Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell said residents’ concerns were the cost of living, healthcare and housing. “That’s what they’re talking about, not Congresswoman Stevens’ continued efforts to get attention,” she said in a statement.
El-Sayed urged undecided Michigan voters to stand with him to protect democracy in the United States. Speaking on MS Now on Sunday, he said, “The divide in our politics isn’t left versus right; the divide in our politics is the people who are locked out versus the people who are locking them out.”
The report said some Democrats and Jewish leaders also condemned the outside-group advertisement targeting El-Sayed. Separately, Democratic congressional nominees Brad Lander and Daniel Biss, both of whom are Jewish, issued a Sunday statement encouraging voters to support El-Sayed without mentioning Stevens. The statement said, “In the closing days of this election, we must remember the true choice of this race,” before contrasting a party that had “stoked hatred, gutted anti-discrimination efforts and remained silent in the face of President Trump’s corruption and authoritarianism” with a candidate promising “accountability, affordability, and the fight for a more equitable, just, and democratic future.”
Donald Trump praised the endorsement on Truth Social, described Stevens as a “highly respected Democrat” and continued supporting her at a campaign rally Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa. The Guardian characterized Trump’s language toward El-Sayed at the rally as Islamophobic insults. Trump said, “I’d love her to join the Republican party, actually, I think that could happen maybe. But she showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the great people of Michigan,” and said he would welcome her to join. Asked about Trump’s praise, Stevens told CNN, “Well, I impeached him twice,” before criticizing Republicans for being “really focused on just letting Trump be the dictator.”