Haley Stevens endorses GOP candidate in Michigan Senate race, spurning Abdul El-Sayed

NPR · BBC, NBC News and CBS News report that Representative Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, broke with her party two days before Election Day by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. The split matters because the seat is part of the fight for control of Congress, and CBS News calls the race one of the most hotly contested in the country.

The rupture built over several days. Stevens, who lost the August primary to El-Sayed, demanded that he apologize for remarks tying Israel to Michigan's affordability problems and denounce an ad by Rebellion PAC that she called antisemitic. El-Sayed's campaign said it had no connection to the ad, and he told reporters he disagreed with its contents. NBC News and CBS News add that he accused her of reviving a settled primary fight, and that his campaign asked her to skip its events. NPR · BBC reports she then appeared with Rogers at a Detroit church and said she does not stand with streamer Hasan Piker.

Senator Chuck Schumer called the move a "despicable betrayal." Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel also condemned it.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR · BBC, NBC News and CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR · BBC → Also at NBC News → Also at CBS News →