Stevens Told Dingell Rogers Endorsement Was ‘a Rumor’ Hours Before She Made It
Rep. Haley Stevens told a fellow Michigan Democrat that reports she would endorse Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers were false just hours before she stood beside him at a Detroit church.
“Haley Stevens told me at midnight last night this was all a rumor and was not true,” Rep. Debbie Dingell told Detroit’s FOX 2 on Sunday night, Fox News reported.
About five hours later, Stevens appeared with Rogers at a Detroit church service. The event had been meant to rally Black voters, whom Stevens won in the primary, behind Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
The switch came after El-Sayed’s campaign asked Stevens to skip its events through Election Day. Stevens had pressed El-Sayed to condemn an outside group’s ad that she said blamed Israel for high grocery prices.
Stevens’ fiance, Democratic donor and lawyer Jason Turkish, had said earlier in the week that he would vote for Rogers.
El-Sayed Cashes In
The defection opened Democratic wallets. El-Sayed’s campaign said it raised more than $2.4 million on Sunday, its best single day, from more than 65,000 donors giving an average of $36.74, according to Fox News.
Nearly 29,600 of those donors gave to the campaign for the first time. The campaign had said it raised $1.2 million in just the four hours after Stevens’ endorsement.
El-Sayed brushed off the endorsement Sunday, telling reporters he does not think about Stevens or Rogers and is focused on voters and policy.
“As Michiganders head to the polls, the momentum behind Abdul’s campaign has never been stronger,” campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak said.
Dingell predicted the move will hurt Rogers. “I think that this is backfiring,” she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the Washington Examiner reported, while adding that she expects a close race.
Dingell and former Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow also said they were “worried” about Stevens after watching her CNN interview and suggested her fiance had influenced the decision.
Rogers fired back. “It is wildly insulting that Debbie Dingell and Mallory McMorrow are insinuating that Congresswoman Stevens is mentally ill and that Jason influences her decision making in an unhealthy way,” he said.
“Congresswoman Stevens should be commended for her courage to stand up to hate and put Michigan first,” Rogers added.
Stevens says she remains “a very proud Democrat.” In a video posted on X, she said El-Sayed told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign, “and he’s right. And that’s why I’m endorsing Mike Rogers.”
She also cited El-Sayed’s backing from left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who has drawn scrutiny for antisemitic remarks and for claiming that “America deserved 9/11.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement “a despicable betrayal,” and some House Democrats have pushed to remove Stevens from their caucus.
The Michigan contest is one of the tightest Senate races in the country, with polling showing El-Sayed holding a narrow edge heading into Tuesday’s vote.
Content created by Conservative Daily News and some content syndicated through CDN is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details and requirements.
