Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's Senate Race Two Days Before the Midterms
The Democratic congresswoman lost her party's Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in a bitter contest. On Sunday she appeared with Republican nominee Mike Rogers at a church service and backed him instead - drawing a 'despicable betrayal' charge from Chuck Schumer and praise from President Trump, who urged her to switch parties.
Two days before the midterm elections, one of the Senate races that could decide control of the chamber took a public turn inside a Michigan church. U.S. Representative Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in a bitterly contested race, on Sunday publicly backed the Republican candidate, Mike Rogers, appearing with him at an area church service. The endorsement landed on the same day Stevens was supposed to appear alongside El-Sayed in a show of party unity.
The reaction split along party lines within hours. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Stevens' move a 'despicable betrayal' on Sunday. President Donald Trump, campaigning at a rescheduled rally in Iowa, praised Stevens and called her endorsement of Rogers 'brave', and urged her to join the Republican Party outright. Trump then moved on to Salina, Kansas, where he took the stage at about 8:22 p.m. local time for what he called his 30th and final rally of the 2026 midterms; in Iowa, House Speaker Mike Johnson told the crowd to ignore polls showing Republicans behind as 'wrong'.
Whether the endorsement moves votes is a separate question from the noise it made. Polling indicates El-Sayed has largely consolidated Democratic support after the primary and holds a lead of nearly four points over Rogers, according to the Real Clear Polling estimate. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House seats are on the ballot on Tuesday, with Republicans holding narrow majorities in both chambers; polls show Democrats favoured to win a majority in the House and locked in a tight battle for the Senate - the fight that makes a single Michigan crossover, two days out, worth a headline in Washington.
