Former House Democrat Endorses Republican Senate Candidate

#MichiganSenate

Former Michigan Democratic congressman Hansen Clarke says he is voting for Mike Rogers. pic.twitter.com/s7DVZmDvrW

— Politics & Poll Tracker

(@PollTracker2024) November 2, 2026

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The endorsement follows Rep. Haley Stevens’s announcement on Sunday that she was backing Rogers. Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August, said El-Sayed had made clear she was not welcome in his campaign. She appeared alongside Rogers at a church service in Detroit before endorsing him. Her longtime chief of staff and several other staffers resigned after the announcement.

Senior Democrats condemned Stevens’s move, and El-Sayed’s campaign said it raised a single-day record of $2.4 million from 65,000 donors in its wake.

El-Sayed has faced months of criticism from fellow Democrats over his positions on Israel, his response to the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, and his campaign appearances with streamer Hasan Piker. In a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday, he said Palestine has a right to exist but attached conditions to Israel’s.

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I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. pic.twitter.com/pQgfSBuhOJ

— Haley Stevens (@HaleyforMI) November 1, 2026

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BREAKING: Abdul El-Sayed surges to his largest lead yet in odds to win Michigan's Senate race, just 1 day before the midterms.

77% chance.

https://t.co/vqD5zT3EHy pic.twitter.com/c1HkrWkCry

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) November 2, 2026

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New – Senate poll – Michigan

Abdul El-Sayed 53%

Mike Rogers 42%

Siena (B+) – 11/1 pic.twitter.com/19jOo7ERdt

— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) November 2, 2026

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Trafalgar poll | 10/31-11/1 LV

US Senate Michigan 2026

Abdul El-Sayed 47.1%

Mike Rogers 45.9% pic.twitter.com/SdAfWXoCpb

— Politics & Poll Tracker

(@PollTracker2024) November 2, 2026

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The state party chair, Curtis Hertel, said Stevens’ endorsement “shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about.”

“We reject the attempts by Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide our party and undermine our momentum,” Hertel wrote, and won’t let such 11th-hour “distractions” deter the campaign. Hertel later wrote that Stevens “is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who supported Stevens in the primary, denounced her endorsement of Rogers.

“This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens,” Schumer wrote in a social media post.

Among the Democrats who joined El-Sayed at church Sunday morning were Dingell, U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the Senate primary before voting began.

Dingell, a senior Democratic figure in the state who helped organize the planned joint appearance, said she asked Stevens not to attend and that Stevens told her she would abide by that.

“I’m the one who pulled it, because it had become way too distracting,” Dingell said in an interview before Stevens appeared with Rogers. “This is not how I was going to spend my weekend before the election, to be perfectly frank.”

In the August primary, Stevens defeated El-Sayed in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, and neighboring Oakland County, drawing support from Black and Jewish voters who are important parts of the Democratic coalition.

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