Stevens Backs Rogers, Upending Michigan Senate Race

Haley Stevens withdrew her support for Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and endorsed Republican Mike Rogers just 48 hours before the midterm elections, making a last-minute intervention in a race shaped by party power and competing claims about who will answer to Michigan residents.

The People at the Bottom of the Ballot

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X: “Working class people's lives are on the ballot on Tuesday—their healthcare, their rent, their bills. Haley Stevens just betrayed them by endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run against.” The stakes he named—health care, rent and bills—belong to people who live with the consequences of decisions made by political institutions and officeholders.

Stevens' longtime chief of staff, Justin German, was among numerous staffers who resigned after the endorsement. German said the team was “shocked and heartbroken” and urged voters to support El-Sayed. The account describes staff departures and an appeal to voters, not a community mutual-aid effort or a self-organized campaign outside electoral politics.

El-Sayed told reporters on Sunday that Stevens' comments weren't distracting him from the rest of the people in Michigan. “At the end of the day, I don't think about Haley Stevens,” he said. “None of this matters.” His response followed a renewed dispute in the closing days of the campaign, after Stevens called on him to condemn an outside group's advertisement she characterized as antisemitic. El-Sayed said he disagreed with the ad, which wasn't produced by his campaign, and accused Stevens of relighting their bitter Democratic primary.

A Reversal With a Record

Stevens' endorsement sharply departed from her earlier attacks on Rogers. She had criticized his alignment with Trump and his positions on tariffs, abortion and health care, and repeatedly said a vote for him would be a “rubber stamp” for Donald Trump's agendas and policies in the Senate, including on tariffs and health care.

Three months earlier, during a Fox interview, Stevens called Rogers “dishonest” with Michigan residents. In social media posts, she called him “Millionaire Mike Rogers,” “out-of-touch” and “out-of-state,” arguing that he couldn't understand Michigan families and their struggles. She also criticized his links to Florida, writing that he “used the revolving door to explode his wealth, then bought a Florida mansion with it.”

Stevens linked Rogers to Trump's economic record, saying the president's tariffs had increased costs for Michigan families and hurt the state's manufacturing industry. She accused Rogers of failing Michigan autoworkers and the middle class, calling him “anti-worker.” Her criticism also covered abortion, health care and elections: she accused him of supporting “extreme abortion bans” and Republican efforts to restrict Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. In another post, she called him “corrupt,” a “Trump crony” and “anti-choice.”

The Senate Seat and the Party Apparatus

Michigan was described as a key seat in Democrats' effort to win control of the Senate. Democrats needed to retain all their current seats, including the open Michigan seat, and flip at least four others. The final poll before Election Day, released Sunday by The New York Times/Siena College, gave El-Sayed an 11-point lead over Rogers, 53 percent to 42 percent.

In her November 1 video on X, Stevens said: “I don't belong in Abdul's campaign. Who we are as Michiganders is not hate and is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now.” She then announced: “I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. I am just one person. I love this state. I'm just letting you know where I am. I'm still a very proud Democrat.”

Rogers welcomed the endorsement, saying Stevens' statement showed “courage.” President Donald Trump called her “very brave” and said: “I don't know Haley. I've never met Haley. But Haley said what few people were willing to say. I'd love her to join the Republican Party actually.” Newsweek said it had contacted Stevens by email and was awaiting a response.