Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers for Senate days before Election Day, angering her party

What happened

Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in the state's U.S. Senate race on Sunday, Nov. 1, ABC News reported. She attended church services with Rogers at a Detroit Black church and posted a video endorsement on X.

Rogers faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who beat Stevens in the August Democratic primary by 1 percentage point. PBS NewsHour described the race as a key state in the Democrats' fight for control of the Senate, with voters going to the polls Tuesday.

How the split developed

A bitter primary

ABC News reported months of tension between Stevens and El-Sayed after a primary filled with personal attacks. According to PBS NewsHour, U.S. policy toward Israel divided the two, with Stevens a firm supporter of Israel and El-Sayed a sharp critic. ABC reported that Stevens never appeared with El-Sayed on the campaign trail after the first days following the primary.

The final week

Tensions rose after Stevens' fiance, Jason Turkish, said he would vote for Rogers and attended an event with Rogers and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, ABC reported. Stevens also called on El-Sayed to disavow two ads she said were offensive to Black and Jewish voters. El-Sayed said one ad was not run by his campaign and that he did not agree with it.

A planned unity event at a Detroit Black church with Rep. James Clyburn and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks fell apart. A source told ABC that El-Sayed's team disinvited Stevens, while Rep. Debbie Dingell said she was the one who told Stevens not to attend. Dingell told ABC she spoke with Stevens Saturday night and was assured she would not back Rogers.

How each side responded

Stevens and Republicans

Stevens told ABC News that "someone in the Democratic Party has got to say that this crap has got to stop." She also told ABC she "fully represents" and is "fully in" the Democratic Party. President Donald Trump called the endorsement an "act of bravery," and House Speaker Mike Johnson said Stevens did "a heroic and important thing for the country." Rogers told Fox News his campaign did not know until they were on the way to church.

Democratic leaders

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Stevens "made a terrible decision, blindsided everyone and isolated herself from the House Democratic caucus," according to ABC. Sen. Chuck Schumer called it "a despicable betrayal," and Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens is not a current member of the state party and will not be in the future.

Dingell told PBS NewsHour she was stunned and called the episode "a huge distraction" from the issues voters care about. She also condemned negative ads on all sides of the race.

The El-Sayed campaign

El-Sayed's campaign said it raised $2.4 million in the hours after the endorsement, its best fundraising day, from more than 65,000 donors, nearly half of them first-time givers. El-Sayed told reporters, "None of this matters."

Where the race stands in polling

ABC cited a CNN poll from October showing El-Sayed ahead 49%-42%, and a New York Times/Siena poll from the last week of October showing him ahead 53%-42%. A CNN poll last week found about 75% of Black voters backing El-Sayed and 10% backing Rogers. El-Sayed said he does not take polls very seriously after the primary. More national races are tracked in our election coverage.

What to watch next

• The Michigan Senate result from Tuesday's vote, which PBS NewsHour described as key to the fight for Senate control.
• A House Democratic discussion of "appropriate next steps" on Stevens after members return, as Jeffries described.
• Whether House Democrats act on colleagues' suggestions that Stevens be expelled from the caucus.