Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate Race: 'We Can't Stand With Hasan Piker'
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate on Sunday, two days before Tuesday's election, breaking with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated her in the August primary.
"Hey, Michigan. As you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away. And he's right," Stevens said in a video posted Sunday to her campaign's X account, @HaleyforMI. "And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. I don't belong in Abdul's campaign."
Video: Rep. Haley Stevens announces her endorsement of Mike Rogers, via @HaleyforMI on X.
The video followed Stevens' appearance with Rogers at a Sunday service at Detroit's Perfecting Church, Fox News reported. "I'm honored to have Haley Stevens support today. I'm honored to have earned that vote," Rogers told reporters outside the church, according to Fox News. "This is more a statement about standing together against hate and the future of this state and this country than it is anything else."
What Haley Stevens Said About Hasan Piker
In both the video and a press conference with Rogers later Sunday, Stevens singled out Hasan Piker, a political streamer who has backed El-Sayed, according to Fox News.
"I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses," she said in the video, according to a TDFP transcription. She added: "What our students see, what our children see, and who we are as Michiganders is not hate. And is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now."
At the press conference, in a clip shared on X, she said her vote would go to Rogers "because we have to stand with country. We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with Hasan Piker." She also said, "I stood with my party and I was booed off the stage."
Stevens did not point to a specific Piker statement in either clip. Fox News reported that Stevens has criticized El-Sayed for not condemning antisemitism among some of his supporters. In the video, she said she remains "a very proud Democrat" and still believes "in everything I've voted for."
How the Stevens and El-Sayed Split Unfolded
On Wednesday, Stevens' fiance, Jason Turkish, said he would vote for Rogers, citing El-Sayed's positions on Israel, according to Fox News and the New York Post.
On Friday, Stevens issued a lengthy statement pressing El-Sayed to condemn an outside group's ad that linked U.S. support for Israel to higher grocery prices, which she called antisemitic. The Post reported that she welcomed his "expected condemnation" of an "antisemitic campaign advertisement."
El-Sayed answered that Stevens "seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago," the Post reported. Campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner said, "No one speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign." Fox News reported that El-Sayed said the ad was not produced by his campaign and that he disagreed with its contents.
El-Sayed's campaign asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining events, the Washington Examiner reported Saturday. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., who helped organize a planned joint church appearance with Rep. Jim Clyburn, said Stevens was asked to skip it after the dispute became a distraction and upset the church's bishop, according to Fox News.
Fox News carried remarks from El-Sayed after the endorsement on Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon, TDFP had not found a published statement from the Michigan Democratic Party on the endorsement.
The Race on Tuesday
The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. El-Sayed, a physician and epidemiologist who led the Detroit Health Department, is running as a progressive and would be the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected. He defeated Stevens in the August primary by about one percentage point, the New York Post reported. Rogers, a former FBI agent, represented Michigan in the House from 2001 to 2015, chaired the House Intelligence Committee and narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. El-Sayed has called him "Trump's hand-picked candidate."
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Sources: Haley Stevens on X (Nov. 1, 2026): https://x.com/HaleyforMI/status/2116945962706862397 ; press conference clip shared on X: https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2116950322316800431 ; Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/haley-stevens-appears-alongside-gop-rival-mike-rogers-detroit-church ; New York Post (Nov. 1): https://nypost.com/2026/11/01/us-news/abdul-el-sayeds-ex-dem-rival-rep-haley-stevens-makes-shocking-appearance-with-gop-rival-in-11th-hour-mich-senate-twist/ ; New York Post (Oct. 31): https://nypost.com/2026/10/31/us-news/abdul-el-sayed-tells-rep-haley-stevens-to-stay-away-from-his-campaign/ ; Washington Examiner (Nov. 1): https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4787330/haley-stevens-endorses-mike-rogers-el-sayed/ ; Washington Examiner (Oct. 31): https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4787103/el-sayed-haley-stevens-stay-away-campaign-event-feud/ . Cover photo: Mike Rogers by P.J. Siquig via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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