Stevens defends surprise Rogers endorsement: 'I'm not turning my back on Democrats'

Democratic Representative Haley Stevens defended her last-minute endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers during a Sunday appearance with Rogers at a Detroit church. Stevens, who previously supported Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, told reporters in Detroit that the endorsement was a personal and private decision and that she is not turning her back on the Democratic party.

The endorsement follows a rift between Stevens and El-Sayed. According to CBS News, Stevens had previously called on El-Sayed to condemn an advertisement from an outside group linking U.S. military aid to Israel to rising grocery prices, an ad she described as antisemitic. While El-Sayed clarified he did not create the ad and disagreed with its contents, he accused Stevens of relitigating their August primary, which he won by a slim margin.

PBS NewsHour reported that Stevens was uninvited to a joint event with El-Sayed on the same day as the endorsement.

Stevens stated in a video that El-Sayed told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign and should stay away. Arutz Sheva - Israel National News reported that Stevens used those comments as a reason for her endorsement of Rogers. Rogers praised Stevens on X, calling her a courageous leader who deserves respect.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, PBS NewsHour, CBS News — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.