WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, triggering furious condemnations from prominent Democrats.
  • Chuck Schumer called the endorsement a “despicable betrayal” while backing Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.
  • Barack Obama, Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and Elissa Slotkin publicly weighed in on the Michigan contest.
  • Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens is “not a current member” of the state party.

Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers, and Democrats promptly reached for the political flamethrowers. Senate leaders, House leaders, former President Barack Obama, and Michigan party officials all responded as the intraparty rupture burst into public view.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York branded the endorsement a betrayal. He also maintained that Senate Democrats remain united behind Democrat Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.

“This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens,” Schumer wrote on X. “Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors.”

The Democratic Party also shared a video message from Obama urging Michigan voters to support El-Sayed. Obama framed the contest around his view of the country’s founding idea and said that idea is now under attack.

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“Two hundred and fifty years ago, America was founded on a simple idea,” Obama said. “This country belongs to all of us. Not just the wealthy, not just the well-connected, everyone. Today, that idea is under attack. And Michigan is where we fight back. That’s why I’m asking you to support Abdul El-Sayed for the United States Senate.”

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York joined the Democratic pileup. He argued that El-Sayed would prioritize Americans and combat the high cost of living while calling his election necessary for Democrats seeking Senate control.

“Let’s be clear about one thing,” Jeffries wrote on X. “Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will always put the American people first and fight hard to lower the high cost of living. His election is critical to flipping control of the United States Senate.”

Jeffries then described Rogers as “a partisan hack who represents more of the same MAGA extremism.” His comments added another prominent Democratic voice to the furious reaction against Stevens.

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Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California offered an equally heated response. “Haley Stevens has chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future with her horrific endorsement of Mike Rogers,” Pelosi wrote on X.

Pelosi added that El-Sayed “must win — because Michigan and our country deserve better.” The avalanche of condemnation showed Democratic officials making little effort to conceal their anger at Stevens.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan took a different tack by pointing toward voters’ economic concerns. “Any day of the week, Michiganders care more about the price of gas or groceries than the daily political drama or the last-minute moves by politicians for the TV cameras,” Slotkin wrote on X.

Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel announced Sunday that Stevens is “not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party.”

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The declaration followed Stevens sharing a video message on X endorsing Rogers.

Before the endorsement, Stevens and Rogers attended the same church on Sunday morning. They were pictured attending a service at Perfecting Church on November 1, 2026, in Detroit.

The endorsement came days after Stevens demanded that El-Sayed publicly condemn an advertisement from Rebellion PAC, according to MS NOW. The advertisement linked high grocery prices to U.S. aid to Israel, while Stevens also criticized El-Sayed over his previous comments about Israel.

Stevens and El-Sayed had been scheduled to campaign together Sunday at a get out the vote event at another Detroit church with Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. It would have been their first joint public appearance in months, but the event collapsed after Stevens issued her statement Friday.

Rebellion PAC was identified as an outside group unaffiliated with El-Sayed’s campaign. Stevens wrote that the advertisement “did not invent its argument” and instead reflected El-Sayed’s campaign trail rhetoric.

Stevens argued that El-Sayed could begin removing money from politics “by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.” Her criticism followed an earlier endorsement of El-Sayed days after the August primary and an appearance with him at a unity breakfast that month.

El-Sayed responded on X by accusing Stevens of being “intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” He called instead for focusing on “beating Mike Rogers,” but Stevens ultimately endorsed Rogers, transforming an already visible Democratic dispute into a full political explosion.

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