DETROIT – In a stunning political upset, Democrat Haley Stevens announced Sunday, just two days before the election, that she was voting for Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Stevens joined Rogers as a special guest at Perfecting Church this morning.
Haley Stevens endorses Mike Rogers
Big picture view:
Stevens joined Rogers at the Detroit congregation just one day after being told to refrain from joining fellow Democrat, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, on the campaign trail after a tense finish to the highly-contested senate race between Rogers and El-Sayed.
What they’re saying:
Stevens appeared with Rogers to speak about her decision today.
“Abdul made it clear I was not welcome,” Stevens said. “Ninety percent of my votes are going to Democrats. I am going to cast my vote for Senate for Mike Rogers. We can’t stand for hate. We can’t stand with Hassan Piker.”
In the immediate aftermath of the press conference, Stevens’ chief of staff Justin German resigned.
Stevens told the media gaggle that she made the decision this morning.
“This was a personal and private decision. I woke up this morning and I decided to go to church, and I’m here with the person who I am voting for, for United States Senate and that is Mike Rogers.”
READ MORE: Abdul El-Sayed campaign doesn’t want Haley Stevens at Senate race events before Election Day
Haley Stevens: Sorry people are upset
Dig deeper:
Stevens said she understands if some in her party are upset because she endorsed El-Sayed previously. She added that “he chose to close this campaign by saying I wasn’t welcome.”
“This is about leadership and integrity,” she said. “This is about looking in the mirror about how real Democrats for Rogers are. There are constituents of mine that are putting themselves out there publicly and others who aren’t. And that’s fine. There’s gonna be people who agree with me. People disagree with me.”
Stevens insisted that she is not turning her back on the Democrats.
“There is a big group of Democrats for Mike Rogers, a lot of them are in my congressional district,” she said. “Abdul has been running his campaign, he’s been working really hard. I’m not trying to undermine that, I just want to be honest about where I am, and where my heart is, at this time.”
Rogers said he is glad he isn’t running against Stevens and spoke about her support.
“I am honored to have Haley Stevens’ support today. I am happy to have earned that vote,” he said. “We talked about America, what was better for our country and what was better for our state.
“At the end of the call, she reminded me that she is still a Democrat.”
The press conference ended as one bystander began yelling that “Haley Stevens is a traitor.”
Meanwhile:
Stevens got blistering feedback by Democratic party leaders in-state and nationally.
READ MORE: Haley Stevens endorsement of Mike Rogers draws Democratic backlash
Abdul El-Sayed responds to Haley Stevens
The other side:
Abdul El-Sayed spoke to an assembled throng of media outside a campaign event this afternoon and called the Stevens endorsement of Rogers a distraction.
He was asked if Stevens has betrayed the Democratic party.
“I don’t know what that party is anymore. At the end of the day, I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens,” El-Sayed said. “I think about the 9,999,998 people who are not those two. Because you know what? I’m just less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it.”
El-Sayed then rattled off his campaign tenants, including about health care, public education and infrastructure, saying if you are someone who believes in Democratic principals, he stands for all of them.
“None of this matters. You know what matters? You can go 15 minutes that way, or 15 minutes this way, and there are families who are preparing to send their kids to schools tomorrow that look like they did 50 years ago,” he said. “They’re worried about what they’re going to feed their kids for lunch. They’re worried that if one of their kids gets sick, they’re not going to be able to pay the bills. Those are the things that matter.”
The Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed split
Former Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan and US Senate candidate, and Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan, speak to members of the media following a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, US, on Sun
The backstory:
On Friday and Saturday, Stevens and El-Sayed traded barbs online over differing opinions on Israel.
Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn a controversial Rebellion PAC advertisement produced by liberal pundit Cenk Uygur, the uncle of his campaign surrogate and controversial streamer Hasan Piker.
In the commercial, it spoke about American money going to fund “the killing of Palestinians”, thus adding to the affordability crisis.
El-Sayed said his campaign was not affiliated with it, while Stevens fired back that “A disclaimer is not a condemnation, and everyone in my community knows the difference.”
Rogers then jumped into the fray recently posing online in support of Stevens.
“Representative Haley Stevens is a courageous leader who deserves the respect of every Michigan voter,” Rogers said. “She has conducted herself with nothing but class since the Democratic primary, a primary where a majority of voters did not vote for her party’s nominee.
“She was absolutely right to call on Abdul El-Sayed to denounce the Rebellion PAC ad and she was right to call on him to apologize for espousing the same hateful ideology behind it.”
Recently Steven’s fiancée, Jason Turkish, announced he is going to vote for Rogers in Tuesday’s match-up.
Watch election coverage live
What’s next:
Catch up on all the latest in the political upset Sunday night, with a special edition of The Pulse streaming on FOX Local. The show airs at 6:30 p.m. ET, and we’ll be streaming until 10 p.m. breaking down what’s happened with just hours left until Election Day.
Also, on Monday, Nov. 2, Haley Stevens will join Detroit Talk City at 4 p.m. ET to talk about the latest in the Senate race and what was behind her decision to vote for Mike Rogers.
And we’ll be streaming all night long on Election Day, bringing you the latest live results in every race.
You can watch live anywhere you stream FOX 2 Detroit with your FOX Local app.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from comments made on Sunday, Nov. 1, by Haley Stevens at a Mike Rogers campaign event in Detroit, and from Abdul El-Sayed at one of his campaign events.