Haley Stevens Withdraws ElSayed Endorsement, Backs Rogers

Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens said on November 3 that she had withdrawn her endorsement of Democratic Senate candidate Abdul ElSayed and endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, describing the decision as her own and a matter of conscience. In a post on X, Stevens said her choice was not impulsive and was not made for her by anyone else. She said she remained a Democrat and intended to help build a more welcoming party, while supporting Rogers in the Michigan Senate race. Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary to ElSayed in August. She said that after the primary she had endorsed him, hoping the campaign could move forward together, but felt that supporters of her primary campaign were not being heard. She described concerns about campaign advertisements and rhetoric as reasons for changing her position. According to Stevens, one advertisement from a group supporting ElSayed linked grocery costs to U.S. support for Israel, while an advertisement from ElSayed’s campaign featured commentator Tucker Carlson. She said she heard from Black and Jewish voters who felt hurt by the messages. Stevens also criticized ElSayed’s association with online commentator Hasan Piker, while...