Dem Defects to GOP Pew Two Days Before the Vote

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., sat in the second pew of Detroit's Perfecting Church on Sunday beside Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, praised his support for Black-owned businesses, and then endorsed him. Election Day is two days off. The man she'd endorsed after August, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, had asked her to stay away from his campaign. So she walked into a majority-Black congregation and chose the other guy.

"I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today," Stevens said in a video posted soon after she arrived. "I don't belong in Abdul's campaign." She told the cameras she remained "still a very proud Democrat." Rogers is Trump-endorsed. Stevens said her vote would go to him because "we have to stand with country."

Who Has the Power

The sanctuary holds about 3,000 seats and was nearly full. Nobody mentioned Stevens or Rogers during the sermon. The appearance was arranged at the last minute, after the two spoke that morning, according to a person familiar with Rogers' campaign. Rogers' spokeswoman Abby Ronson put it plainly: "Mike welcomes her."

The fight itself ran through the usual channels. An outside group's ad tying U.S. support for Israel to high grocery prices set it off. Stevens called it antisemitic. El-Sayed said his campaign didn't make it and that "I do not agree with the contents of that ad." Stevens wanted more: an apology for his criticism of Israel, and removal of a campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson. El-Sayed answered that she seemed "intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago."

That primary, on August 4, 2026, drew tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including from the super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which backed Stevens. El-Sayed won by less than a percentage point. The money decided the terms of the argument long before anyone got near a church.

Who Gets Crushed

The people in the pews, in a city where roughly three-quarters of residents are Black, were treated as a turnout target. Democrats are seeking to drive turnout in Detroit. A joint church appearance with El-Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., had been planned, then collapsed. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who helped organize it, said she pulled the plug because it had "become way too distracting." Her words: "This is not how I was going to spend my weekend before the election, to be perfectly frank." And: "The bishop was getting upset, because this is a real church service."

Stevens' own staff paid for the stunt. A person familiar with the matter confirmed her longtime chief of staff Justin German and several other congressional office staffers are resigning over her decision. Communications director Logan Basch appears to have left, per an auto-reply. Rep. Jamie Raskin said he was "blindsided"; Stevens had told him around 10 p.m. Saturday she was still behind El-Sayed.

At the news conference, a heckler wearing an El-Sayed pin shouted "Haley is a traitor." The gaggle ended. Stevens and Rogers were escorted to their cars.

What They're Calling "Unity"

Stevens told reporters she is "one vote in this state" and didn't mean to sway the race. She said she'd been "booed off the stage" standing with her party, and that she expects Democrats to flip the Senate Tuesday with Chuck Schumer as majority leader. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democratic donor, told The Detroit News Wednesday he'd vote for Rogers.

Dingell had the line for the occasion: "United we stand, divided we fall." Of Rogers she said: "Mike Rogers loved every minute of it."

Political scientist Matt Grossmann told Reuters the visible division is "certainly unhelpful" to El-Sayed. More than 2 million votes are already cast through mail-in and early in-person voting, which began October 24. The seat belongs to retiring Democrat Gary Peters. Party managers say keeping it is vital to winning a Senate majority for the final two years of Trump's second term.

So that's the choice on offer: two parties, one seat, a few million dollars of outside money, and a church pew used as a stage.