‘A despicable betrayal’: Democrats incensed by Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Mike Rogers

Key points

• Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers after losing the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed.
• Chuck Schumer called the endorsement "a despicable betrayal" and said Senate Democrats back El-Sayed.
• Donald Trump praised Stevens as a "highly respected Democrat" and said he would welcome her into the Republican party.

Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens' last-minute endorsement of Mike Rogers, a Republican Senate candidate, has drawn fierce backlash from members of her own party. Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary narrowly to Abdul El-Sayed before announcing her support for Rogers, following a feud with the El-Sayed campaign over an outside group's ad that blamed the high cost of living on US support for Israel.

Donald Trump praised the switch on Truth Social, calling Stevens a "highly respected Democrat", and repeated his support for her at a campaign rally Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa.

Party figures respond

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the endorsement "a despicable betrayal" and posted that Senate Democrats are united behind El-Sayed. Nancy Pelosi, a California representative, posted that Stevens had "chosen to dangerously betray Michigan families' healthcare, freedoms and future". Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor, said Stevens had betrayed working-class people by backing the Republican she had said she wanted to run against.

Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic party, said in a post that Stevens was not a member of the party "nor will she be in the future". In a video shared by Detroit journalist Sam Robinson, Hertel said there was "no reasonable explanation" for the endorsement. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democratic representative, said residents were focused on the cost of living, healthcare and housing rather than Stevens' "continued efforts to get attention".

I'd love her to join the Republican party, actually, I think that could happen maybe.

— Donald Trump

Stevens questioned on CNN

In a CNN interview on Sunday evening, Stevens declined to clearly explain what led to the endorsement. "I'm just casting my one vote this way," she said, while insisting she still wanted Democrats to win the majority on election day. She added that she was "not trying to upset anyone" and said many Democrats had thanked her.

When pressed on whether being disinvited from an El-Sayed campaign event triggered the decision, Stevens refused to answer and several seconds of silence aired. Asked about Trump's praise, she told CNN: "Well, I impeached him twice." El-Sayed, speaking on MS Now on Sunday, urged undecided Michigan voters to stand with him to protect democracy.