Democrat Haley Stevens backs GOP in Michigan Senate race after Israel feud with El-Sayed

Democratic Representative Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate in Michigan on Sunday. This endorsement follows a close Democratic primary defeat for Stevens at the hands of nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens announced her support for Rogers in a video posted to social media after appearing alongside him at a Detroit church.

The endorsement follows an escalating feud between Stevens and El-Sayed regarding Israel. According to POLITICO, Stevens stated that El-Sayed told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign, leading to her decision to back Rogers. PBS NewsHour reported that Stevens was uninvited to a joint event with El-Sayed, which she had originally been scheduled to attend alongside U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn.

The tension stems from disagreements over El-Sayed's comments regarding Israel. The Guardian US reported that Stevens, a supporter of Israel, had conditioned her appearance with El-Sayed on him denouncing a campaign advertisement from an outside group. PBS NewsHour noted that the intraparty dispute occurred just days before an election that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.

Brief written by urgent.news from Haaretz, The Guardian US, POLITICO, PBS NewsHour, Newsweek — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.