Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers stated that Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens' endorsement of him has "flipped this thing upside down," accusing Democrats of attacking Stevens after her unexpected endorsement.
Rogers told Brian Kilmeade on "The Brian Kilmeade Show" that Stevens contacted him Sunday morning to endorse his campaign following her primary loss to Abdul El-Sayed. Rogers characterized Stevens' move as prioritizing America over her party, contrasting it with El-Sayed's platform, which Rogers described as "anti-Jewish," divisive, and angry.
Stevens' endorsement has triggered backlash from prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Schumer reportedly called the endorsement a "despicable betrayal," while Pelosi accused Stevens of "dangerously" betraying Michigan families.
This endorsement marks a significant break for Stevens, who had previously avoided explicitly endorsing El-Sayed after her primary defeat, despite continuing to align with the Democratic party. In an October interview with CNN, Stevens did not explicitly endorse El-Sayed, instead stating she was "still on the team" and intended to support Democrats on the ballot.
Tensions between Stevens and El-Sayed had escalated in the final stretch of the primary race. Stevens had called on El-Sayed to condemn an outside group's advertisement that linked U.S. support for Israel to rising grocery prices, labeling it antisemitic. El-Sayed's campaign subsequently asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining campaign events, with El-Sayed stating his campaign did not produce the ad and disagreed with its content.
Days before her public endorsement of Rogers, Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, a registered Democrat and Michigan attorney, announced his intention to vote for Rogers. Turkish cited El-Sayed's rhetoric on Israel as making the Jewish community "less safe" and described his decision as "putting country before party."
Rogers stated that his campaign had no prior knowledge of Stevens' intention to endorse him and denied any quid pro quo. "Matter of fact, we didn't know what was going to happen," Rogers said when asked if he had offered Stevens anything in return.
Rogers also criticized the Democratic response to Stevens' endorsement, suggesting party leaders were attacking her for her decision to vote for him in the Senate race. He argued that Stevens' actions demonstrated common sense, contrasting her stance with a candidate he believes would be a "disaster for Democrats and America."
Regarding polling, Rogers disputed a recent New York Times/Siena poll that showed El-Sayed leading him by 11 percentage points. Rogers asserted that his campaign's internal polling indicated a much closer race, within one or two points. He also claimed his campaign had made significant inroads with Black voters in Detroit, challenging the poll's findings on that demographic.
Stevens had previously expressed reservations about El-Sayed's outreach to Black voters, noting in an October interview that a planned speech to the Black community had not occurred.