Stevens backs Rogers after Democrats push her out
Two days before Election Day, Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, citing a campaign that shut her out over an ad blaming Jews for grocery costs. Party leaders vowed next steps.
IJR · Nov 2, 2026 · 5 min read
At Perfecting Church in Detroit on Sunday morning, Rep. Haley Stevens sat next to Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers. She later posted a video to X announcing she was endorsing him for the United States Senate.
The endorsement landed two days before Election Day, on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
Stevens is a Michigan Democrat. She lost the Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August by nine-tenths of one percent. She had supported El-Sayed after that loss. On the final weekend she reversed course and stood with the Republican.
The rupture turned on an outside advertisement and on whether El-Sayed’s campaign still wanted her. Rebellion PAC put out an ad linking U.S. support for Israel and the war in Gaza to rising grocery prices. One account said the ad was produced by Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. El-Sayed’s campaign denied involvement. Stevens had pressed El-Sayed to disavow it. Rogers called the spot one of the most racist ads he had ever seen, blaming Jews for the cost of bananas.
The same day, El-Sayed appeared at a separate Detroit event at Northend Church of God in Christ with Rev. Horace Sheffield III and Rep. James Clyburn. Stevens was not there. Rogers said the Democratic nominee had chased her out of the effort.
“What you saw yesterday was the best example of immaturity on how politics ought to be bringing people together,” Rogers said of the split. “He chased out somebody who was well respected in her party, did exceptionally well with African-Americans across the city of Detroit,” he said. She “came within nine-tenths of one percent of winning that primary race.”
“He basically said ‘you’re not welcome in my campaign’ because he would not disavow one of the most racist ads I have ever seen blaming Jews for the cost of bananas,” Rogers said.
Stevens sat for an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper and repeatedly declined to explain what had changed overnight. She told Cooper, “I’m just being honest with my constituents and what I’m hearing from people. And, in fact, I’ve been hearing from a ton of Dems, Anderson, who said ‘thank you.’”
Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, had endorsed Rogers before she did, citing antisemitism concerns. Her former campaign chair, David Kramer, said he would vote for Rogers as well. After the announcement, her chief of staff, Justin German, who had served eight years, resigned along with other staff.