Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11) said endorsing Republican candidate Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was worth dealing with the slings and arrows coming her way from her own party.
Stevens made her endorsement over the weekend after she was set to appear with El-Sayed. However, disagreements over his stance on Israel and the antisemitic individuals he associates with became too big an issue for the lawmaker.
While heading to the polls on Tuesday, a NewsNation reporter asked Stevens whether her decision was “worth it.”
The lawmaker took it in stride and said, “it’s the people’s day” and that it is “majority makers day,” affirming her belief that Democrats will win back control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
When the reporter repeated the question, Stevens said, “absolutely — voting is always worth it, right?”
NEW: We just spoke exclusively with Congresswoman Haley Stevens at a polling place in Birmingham Michigan as she came to cast her ballot for Republican Mike Rogers. She told us she’s here to vote with her mother and that she still believes Democrats will win the majority, “It's the people's day. And I told this to our next speaker of the house, Hakeem Jeffries: It's Majority Makers Day.” I asked if given the backlash she’s receiving from her Rogers endorsement, whether she feels it was worth it and she told me “Absolutely. Voting is always worth it, right?” @NewsNation
— Hannah Brandt (@HannahBrandt_TV) November 3, 2026
The day after losing to El-Sayed during the August primary elections, Stevens endorsed Rogers and preached a message of unity. However, Jason Turkish, Stevens’ fiancé, told a Detroit newspaper that he plans to vote for Rogers and expressed concerns that El-Sayed hadn’t done enough to address the concerns of Jewish voters.
Last Friday, Stevens released a lengthy statement urging El-Sayed to condemn an ad by Rebellion PAC, an outside group funded by The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, that blamed people’s economic concerns on foreign aid being sent to Israel.
I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. https://t.co/pQgfSBuhOJ
— Haley Stevens (@HaleyforMI) November 1, 2026
El-Sayed countered by claiming Stevens was merely relitigating the primary election. His campaign asked her not to attend its closing events because they did not want her to become a distraction.
Stevens told a key ally she was sticking with El-Sayed as recently as Saturday night. El-Sayed did disavow the ad the same day, and Stevens praised him for doing so.
Yet, on Sunday, Stevens made her decision and contacted Rogers.
Instead of attending planned unity appearances with El-Sayed and Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC-06), she went with Rogers to a service at Perfecting Church. She later announced her endorsement in a video she posted on social media.
“Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” she said. “And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”
While speaking with reporters outside Perfecting Church, she said she is voting for Rogers “because we have to stand with country, we can’t stand with hate, we can’t stand with Hasan Piker.”
The fallout was immediate. Her longtime chief of staff and many of her team members resigned in protest.
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