Michigan’s Democratic Party chair wasted no time drawing a line around Rep. Haley Stevens on Sunday. Curtis Hertel announced that she is “not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party.”
His declaration followed Stevens’ decision to endorse Republican Mike Rogers in the state’s U.S. Senate race. She revealed the move in a video posted to X.
Earlier that morning, Stevens and Rogers had attended the same church. The endorsement went public afterward.
The announcement upended a partnership Stevens had built with Democratic nominee Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.
She had backed him within days of the August primary, and the two shared a unity breakfast that month. Since then, they had not campaigned together.
Sunday was supposed to change that. Both were due at a Detroit church for a get-out-the-vote event with Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), which would have been their first joint public appearance in months.
Friday ended that plan. Stevens issued a statement demanding that El-Sayed denounce an advertisement from Rebellion PAC, a group that operates outside his campaign.
The ad connected high grocery prices to U.S. aid to Israel.
In her statement, Stevens argued the ad “did not invent its argument.
” She pointed to El-Sayed’s own rhetoric on the campaign trail, along with his past comments about Israel, as the source of that argument.
She also offered a pointed suggestion.
According to Stevens, El-Sayed could begin his effort to remove money from politics “by getting Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford.”
El-Sayed answered with a statement on X. He accused Stevens of being “intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago,” and he steered the conversation toward “beating Mike Rogers.”
MS NOW reported on her demand, which preceded the Rogers endorsement by only days.
After the endorsement, Democratic leaders flooded X with responses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) labeled it a “despicable betrayal.”
Schumer said Senate Democrats stand “united” behind El-Sayed.
He said the nominee would “fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan,” and he described Rogers as “a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) directed her message at Stevens personally.
She wrote that Stevens had chosen “to dangerously betray Michigan families’ healthcare, freedoms and future,” and she called the endorsement “horrific.” Pelosi added that El-Sayed “must win — because Michigan and our country deserve better.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) tied the contest to the balance of power in Washington.
“His election is critical to flipping control of the United States Senate.” He said El-Sayed would “fight hard to lower the high cost of living,” and he branded Rogers “a partisan hack who represents more of the same MAGA extremism.”
The Democratic Party’s X account also shared a video from former President Barack Obama, who built his appeal around the country’s 250th anniversary.
“Two hundred and fifty years ago, America was founded on a simple idea,” Obama said. “This country belongs to all of us.”
He closed with a direct request to Michigan voters. “Michigan is where we fight back. That’s why I’m asking you to support Abdul El-Sayed for the United States Senate.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) spoke to voters’ priorities in her own post.
“Any day of the week, Michiganders care more about the price of gas or groceries than the daily political drama or the last-minute moves by politicians for the TV cameras.”
The sequence unfolded over three days. Friday brought a statement and a canceled event.
Sunday brought a church service, an endorsement, and a wave of rebukes from the highest ranks of the Democratic Party.
