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 [1] 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.”
This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens.
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.
— Chuck Schumer (@chuckschumer) November 1, 2026 [2]
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.
“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.”
President Obama is all in to elect Abdul El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate.
“This country belongs to all of us. Not just the wealthy or well-connected—everyone. 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 U.S. Senate.” https://t.co/bFw7LoDONX
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) November 1, 2026 [3]
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.
Let’s be clear about one thing.
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.
Mike Rogers is a partisan hack who represents more of the same MAGA extremism.
Vote @AbdulElSayed in Michigan!
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) November 1, 2026 [4]
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.
Haley Stevens has chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future with her horrific endorsement of Mike Rogers.
@AbdulElSayed must win — because Michigan and our country deserve better. -NP
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 1, 2026 [5]
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.
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.
I was knocking doors in Sterling Heights yesterday and to a house, those folks were hyper-focused on how expensive everything in their life seems to be, and they’re desperately worried — often in tears — about the future for their kids.
And it is for that reason that I have avoided commenting on the actions of Congresswoman Haley Stevens until now.
But there is simply too much at stake. We have to be focused on the mission at hand. That mission is to put a check on President Trump in the U.S. House and Senate, and do the hard work of saving the middle class.
So anyone who makes an election this important about themselves, and not Michiganders and our democracy, should think hard about whether they are serving the greater good.
People outside of Michigan sometimes have a hard time understanding our politics. And in moments like these, I get it.
But here’s the simple truth: The election on Tuesday is bigger than any one person. It’s about who we are as a country and the values that most represent us.
Michigan elects fighters, and we will elect @AbdulElSayed on November 3.
— Elissa Slotkin (@ElissaSlotkin) November 1, 2026 [6]
Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel announced Sunday that Stevens is “not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party.”
Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.
— Curtis Hertel (@CurtisHertelJr) November 1, 2026 [7]
The declaration followed Stevens sharing a video message on X endorsing Rogers.
I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. https://t.co/pQgfSBuhOJ
— Haley Stevens (@HaleyforMI) November 1, 2026 [8]
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.
Quite a statement from Abdul El-Sayed: “Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” https://t.co/F11HckhYyL
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) October 30, 2026 [9]