Democrat Haley Stevens supports Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers amid rift with Abdul El-Sayed

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens on Sunday endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers amid a break with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed who was at the forefront in the final sprint to election day.

“Our Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and should stay away, and he’s right,” Stevens said in a video posted to social media on Sunday. “And that’s why I’m endorsing Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate today.”

Stevens, who narrowly lost to El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic primary in August, appeared alongside Rogers at a Detroit church on Sunday.

The development comes after Stevens, who was heavily backed by the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm during the primary and has since said she supports the Democratic ticket, called on El-Sayed last week to condemn an ​​outside group’s ad linking U.S. military aid to Israel to rising food prices, which she called anti-Semitic. El-Sayed accused Stevens of “reviving a primary that ended three months ago,” although he also clarified that the ad “was not made by me” and said he disagreed with its content.

El-Sayed is working to bring attention back to the issues facing Michigan voters as he takes on Republican candidate Rogers. But Rogers praised Stevens Friday for calling on El-Sayed to denounce the ad and for expressing concerns raised by Michigan’s Jewish voters.

“Representative Haley Stevens is a courageous leader who deserves the respect of all Michigan voters,” Rogers said in an article on

Amid the rift, Stevens was asked to stay away from all remaining campaign events in the final days before Tuesday’s election, CBS News previously reported. Stevens was scheduled to appear with El-Sayed at a unity event Sunday alongside Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. But El-Sayed said Saturday: “I prefer not to distract from the key issues of this campaign.”

Stevens’ fiance, Jason Turkish, said last week he would vote for Rogers.

After Stevens endorsed Rogers, senior Democrats expressed continued support for El-Sayed’s candidacy, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed because we know he will fight for the economic interests of Michigan’s working families, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors,” Schumer said in a statement.

Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said Michiganders “want leaders to focus on making their lives more affordable.”

“This is what they are talking about, not Congresswoman Stevens’s continued efforts to get attention,” she said in a statement. “If we want to fight to improve the lives of working Michiganders, we must stay focused on electing Democrats up and down the ballot, and that includes electing Abdul El-Sayed as Michigan’s next senator.”