Trump Courts Stevens in Senate Power Struggle

Outgoing congresswoman Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit on Sunday, after the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, said she was no longer welcome in his campaign. The endorsement came days before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, in a tight race that may decide control of the Senate.

The rupture reached Stevens’ own congressional office. Her chief of staff and multiple other staffers resigned on Sunday. Justin German, her former chief of staff of eight years, said: “I speak on behalf of our team in wholeheartedly supporting Abdul El-Sayed for Senate. This election is too important to sow division or stand on the sidelines.” An automatic reply from communications director Logan Basch said: “Hello, as of November 1st I am no longer with the Office of Congresswoman Haley Stevens.”

The party machinery closes ranks

Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary to El-Sayed in August. She initially congratulated him and offered support for the general election, but the two later clashed over concerns about antisemitism. Stevens accused El-Sayed, who is Muslim, of not denouncing it strongly enough.

On Friday, Stevens demanded that El-Sayed denounce an advertisement blaming Michigan’s cost-of-living issues on U.S. aid to Israel. El-Sayed’s campaign wasn’t behind the ad, though it supported his candidacy. He said his campaign was focused on the “challenges Michiganders are facing” and defeating Rogers, while Stevens “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” He said he disagreed with the ad but didn’t want to “play the condemn game” over an unaffiliated advertisement.

Stevens had been scheduled to appear with El-Sayed at a Democratic campaign event on Sunday. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D, Mich.) said she disinvited Stevens because of the strained relationship. “There’s nothing to be gained by the two of them being in the same place,” Dingell said Saturday. Stevens instead appeared with Rogers and said in a video posted on social media: “Our Democratic nominee for Senate, Abdul, said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away. And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

Endorsements as election-day leverage

On CNN on Sunday night, Stevens said El-Sayed’s “anger and lack of kindness” prompted her decision. She cited his past associations with political influencer Hasan Piker and Piker’s uncle, Cenk Uygur, whose Rebellion PAC was behind the anti-Israel ad. Stevens said she was “trying to help” the Democratic Party by turning on El-Sayed, whom she compared to Graham Platner, the former Democratic Senate nominee from Maine who withdrew from that race in July.

Stevens said she remains a “really proud Democrat” and “absolutely” wants Democrats to win control of the Senate. Her endorsement of the Republican candidate could affect a tight race. The electoral contest offers a stark measure of party discipline: Democratic leaders condemned her, while Republican leaders welcomed her support.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement a “despicable betrayal” and said Senate Democrats were “united” behind El-Sayed. Rep. Nancy Pelosi wrote that Stevens “has chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future with her horrific endorsement of Mike Rogers.” Elissa Slotkin said anyone making an election this important about themselves rather than Michiganders and democracy “should think hard about whether they are serving the greater good.”

Republicans praised Stevens’ choice. Rogers said she “showed courage and bravery in putting Michigan first” and that he was “grateful for her support.” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he had sent Stevens a note commending “how courageous she was, how much we appreciate that she’s standing for truth.” At a rally in Iowa on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he didn’t know Stevens and had never met her, then added: “I think I’d probably— I’d love her to join the Republican Party actually.”

Michigan Democratic Party state chair Curtis Hertel wrote that Stevens “is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.” El-Sayed, who leads Rogers in public opinion polling, appeared unfazed. “At the end of the day, I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens,” he told reporters.