Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers praised Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens on Monday for putting country ahead of party. He also accused Democrats of viciously attacking her after she shocked her own party by endorsing him over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
Speaking on “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” Rogers said Stevens’ endorsement “flipped this thing upside down.” He said Stevens called him Sunday morning as he was on his way to church, and she ultimately decided to publicly back his campaign after her bruising primary loss to El-Sayed.
“This is a congresswoman who just stood up and said, ‘America is more important than my party right now,'” Rogers said. “And we cannot elect somebody who is so anti-Jewish, who is divisive, who’s angry, who was mean about his politics. It’s just the wrong thing to do.”
Party Leaders Condemn the Move
Fox News reported Monday that Stevens’ endorsement triggered backlash from prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Schumer called the move a “despicable betrayal,” while Pelosi accused Stevens of “dangerously” betraying Michigan families by backing Rogers.
The endorsement was a sharp break for Stevens. After losing the Democratic primary, she had stopped short of explicitly endorsing El-Sayed but continued to present herself as aligned with the party. In an October CNN interview, she was repeatedly asked whether she supported El-Sayed and declined to say so outright. Instead, she stressed that she was “still on the team” and planned to back Democrats on the ballot.
Tensions Build in the Final Stretch
Friction between the former primary rivals grew as the race neared its close. Stevens pressed El-Sayed to condemn an outside group’s ad that linked U.S. support for Israel to higher grocery prices, which she called antisemitic. El-Sayed’s campaign then asked her to stay away from its remaining events. El-Sayed said his campaign did not produce the ad and that he disagreed with its contents.
Days before Stevens endorsed Rogers, her fiancé, Jason Turkish, had already broken with the Democratic nominee. Turkish, a Jewish Michigan attorney and registered Democrat, told reporters at a Rogers campaign event that he planned to vote for the Republican. He argued that El-Sayed’s rhetoric on Israel had made the Jewish community “less safe,” and described his decision as “putting country before party.”
Denials Before a Surprise Reversal
Even hours before the endorsement, Stevens appeared to deny she would back Rogers. Fox News Digital reported Monday that Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said she spoke with Stevens around midnight Saturday, and Stevens told her reports of an impending Rogers endorsement were a “rumor” and “not true.”
Hours later, however, Stevens stood beside Rogers at a Detroit church service, where she announced she would cross party lines and endorse him over El-Sayed.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen. We were driving to the church yesterday morning when the call came in,” Rogers said. “I just invited her to come in. She decided between when she got in the car and she got to the church, she was going to not only withdraw the endorsement, but endorse me.”
Rogers said the two had a “great conversation” on the phone. He also pushed back on suggestions that Stevens had received anything in exchange for the endorsement, saying his campaign had no advance knowledge of her plans.
“Absolutely not. Matter of fact, we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Rogers said when asked whether he had offered Stevens anything. “She said, ‘I’ve not asked anyone to go with me, I’m just telling you what I’m doing.'”
Rogers Turns Fire on Democratic Critics
Rogers then targeted Democrats who have criticized Stevens since her announcement.
“They want to attack Haley Stevens for saying, ‘I’m a Democrat, I’m voting Democrat up and down the ticket, except for one race, Abdul El-Sayed. I am voting for Mike Rogers,'” Rogers said.
“Their whole plan now is to come out and attack her with viciousness,” he continued. “She’s the only one in the Democrat Party today that has enough common sense to know you elect somebody that hates a group of people this much, it’s gonna be a disaster for Democrats and America.”
Dueling Claims Over Polling
During the radio appearance, Rogers was asked about a New York Times/Siena poll released Sunday that showed El-Sayed leading him 53% to 42% among likely Michigan voters. That margin was significantly wider than other surveys of the race.
Rogers rejected those findings, pointing to his campaign’s internal polling and modeling, which he said showed the race within one or two points.
“We have it as a one- or two-point race,” Rogers said. “Our polling, our modeling and polling shows this is tied or we’re up by two. So we think that’s closer to the truth.”
Rogers also argued that the poll underestimated his support among Black voters in Detroit, saying his campaign had made “great inroads” in the community. His remarks came after Stevens publicly questioned El-Sayed’s outreach to Black voters. During the October CNN interview, when she would not explicitly back El-Sayed, Stevens said she had urged him and his campaign to deliver a speech to the Black community.
“But yeah, I mean, that didn’t happen,” Stevens said at the time. “That speech hasn’t happened.”
