As Republicans touted Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’ 11th-hour endorsement of GOP Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers, Democrats downplayed its impression and pointed to the fundraising surge it generated for Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
President Donald Trump referred to as it an “act of bravery” and that it confirmed “nice loyalty to Michigan.” GOP Home Speaker Mike Johnson mentioned, “I believe Haley did a heroic and essential factor for the nation.”
However El-Sayed’s marketing campaign mentioned it introduced in $2.4 million within the hours after Stevens’ endorsement, its best-ever fundraising day.
Senate candidate Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, and Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan, converse to members of the media following a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, Nov. 1, 2026.
Emily Elconin/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos
“This haul will go in the direction of making certain Abdul’s message -. cash out of politics. cash in your pocket, an. Medicare for All — reaches each Michigander in each nook of the state throughout this vital ultimate stretch,. El-Sayed’s marketing campaign mentioned in an announcement.
The marketing campaign mentioned the document haul got here from greater than 65,000 donors, almost half of them contributing for the primary time.
Rogers mentioned in an interview on Fox Information on Monday that “We didn’t know till we have been on our solution to church once we received a cellphone name that mentioned she had made the swap. Bear in mind, that is Abdul’s doing. I do know Democrats are thumping their chest saying she has achieved one thing aside from brave. It was nothing however brave.”
Stevens’ stunning endorsement got here after months of pressure between her and El-Sayed since he defeated her within the Democratic major in August by 1 share level after a bruising major crammed with private assaults.
Although they appeared collectively within the preliminary days after the first, Stevens by no means appeared with El-Sayed on the path. On Sundaym she praised Rogers’ outreach to Black voters.
In latest days, issues got here to a boil after Stevens’ fiancé Jason Turkish introduced he would vote for Rogers and attended an occasion with Rogers and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz final week and Stevens referred to as on El-Sayed to disavow a pair of adverts that she mentioned have been offensive to Black and Jewish voters.
El-Sayed mentioned one of many adverts was not run by his marketing campaign and mentioned he didn’t agree with it.
There seemed to be preliminary settlement for Stevens to look with El-Sayed at a unity occasion at a Black church in Detroit alongside Democratic Rep. James Clyburn and Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, however these plans fell aside, with a supply telling ABC Information that the El-Sayed workforce had disinvited her, though Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell mentioned she was the one who advised Stevens to not attend.
On Sunday, simply earlier than that occasion was to start, Stevens as an alternative confirmed as much as for church providers with Rogers at one other Detroit Black church just some miles away and posted a video on X endorsing Rogers.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks with Congressman James Clyburn in the course of the “Souls to the Polls” occasion at Northend Church of God, November 1, 2026, in Detroit.
Jeff Kowalsky/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Stevens advised ABC Information that endorsing Rogers was motivated largely by stopping the Democratic Occasion from shifting in a route that she finds harmful, saying “however somebody within the Democratic Occasion has received to say that this crap has received to cease” and that the celebration “is simply not going to have this socialist, far excessive, hateful division.”
El-Sayed dismissed the endorsement’s impression on the race, telling reporters, “On the finish of the day. I truly do not take into consideration Haley Stevens,” and added later, “None of this issues.”
In an interview with ABC Information Stay on Monday, Dingell mentioned she spoke to Stevens repeatedly over the previous week and that she and others have been “anxious” about her.
“She’s been beneath a whole lot of stress. I knew that a lot of folks have been attempting to push her to do that. She’s my buddy. She’s a human being. I talked to her loads final week, a number of conversations every single day.”
Dingell mentioned she spoke with Stevens on Saturday evening and was assured that she wouldn’t assist Rogers, solely to get up Sunday and see that she had.
When pressed about who pressured Stevens to assist Rogers, Dingell introduced up the “sturdy Jewish group in her district,” and described the vitriolic and racist rhetoric in adverts attacking El-Sayed.
Virgie Rollins, chair of the Democratic Nationwide Committee Black Caucus mentioned in an announcement that she was “dismayed that Congresswoman Haley Stevens has revealed herself to be a sellout who used Black Michiganders for a political stunt.”
Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries mentioned Monday that Stevens “made a horrible choice, blindsided everybody and remoted herself from the Home Democratic caucus.”
“We may have a dialogue about acceptable subsequent steps upon our return,” Jeffries mentioned. “In the mean time, we have now one mission and that is to win on Tuesday. Democrats should take again management of the Home of Representatives and the Senate.”
A CNN ballot final week discovered about 75% of Black voters saying they have been backing El-Sayed and 10% mentioned they have been backing Rogers.
A CNN ballot performed in October confirmed El-Sayed with a 49%-42% margin over Rogers whereas a New York Instances/Siena ballot performed over the past week of October and launched Sunday confirmed the race 53%-42% El-Sayed.
El-Sayed largely dismissed the ballot outcomes, saying, “I do not take polls very significantly after the first,” when polls confirmed him main by a snug margin earlier than votes have been solid.
Probably the most concrete impression of Stevens’ endorsement seems to be the efficient finish of her profession within the Democratic Occasion.
Curtis Hertel, the chair of Michigan’s Democratic Occasion, mentioned Stevens’ endorsement “reveals that she has deserted every thing she claims to care about” and that she “is just not a present member of the Michigan Democratic Occasion, nor will she be sooner or later.”
Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer referred to as the transfer “a despicable betrayal” and a number of other of her Home Democratic colleagues prompt she ought to be expelled from the Home Democratic caucus.
Stevens advised ABC Information that she “totally represents” and is “totally in” the Democratic Occasion.
