Things might be going far better for Republicans in Michigan than pollsters give them credit for, as it looks like Democrat voters are ditching Abdul El-Sayed and signing up to vote for Mike Rogers in the wake of hugely courageous Democratic Representative Haley Stevens deciding at the last moment to publicly endorse Rogers rather than El-Sayed.
As background, Rep. Stevens was slated to appear alongside Rogers for an endorsement on Sunday, November 1. She didn’t do so. Instead, she showed up to church with Mike Rogers, and then released a video in which she announced her decision to support Rogers over Abdul. “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign,” she said. She continued, “Who we are as Michiganders is not hate…That’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers.”
That appears to have struck a chord with some Democratic voters, who are switching from supporting the Democrats to supporting a Republican because of Rep. Stevens’s brave decision to stand up to Abdul El-Sayed and what he represents, which is, in the minds of many, Islam and socialism.
Amongst those who told the media as much was Michigan voter Kaylee Devery, who said that she would be voting for Mike Rogers because of Rep. Stevens’s endorsement of him. She said, “It’s almost like her endorsing was giving people permission to change their minds. You’re allowed to change party sides and and and vote for who you think will be best for Michigan, and not necessarily just vote straight ticket.”
Watch her here:
Michigan voter says Haley Stevens’ endorsement convinced her to vote for @MikeRogersforMI:
“It’s almost like her endorsing him is giving people permission to change their minds.” https://t.co/MrFkzk4Gae
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) November 3, 2026
Explaining her decision in a later post on X, Rep. Stevens wrote, ” My decision to withdraw my endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed and support Mike Rogers has angered many Democrats. I understand why. But it was not impulsive, and it was not made for me by anyone else. It was a decision of conscience.” She added, after explaining that she still agrees with the Democrats on most policies, that Abdul’s rhetoric and choice of campaign partners has been disturbing to her, saying, “Abdul chose to campaign alongside Hasan Piker, whose rhetoric about Jewish Americans has been deeply disturbing. He took Piker to college campuses to tell our youth that Iran is not our enemy.”
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She then noted, “I asked Abdul to reject that rhetoric clearly. I wasn’t asking him to change his platform. I was offering him an opportunity to reassure people, reject division, and demonstrate the leadership required of a United States Senator. He ultimately said he disagreed with the outside ad. I welcomed that. But by then, I had also been told I was no longer welcome at his campaign events. That experience raised a bigger question. If a candidate cannot make room for people who supported his primary opponent, how will he represent an entire state filled with people who disagree with him?”
And, later, she wrote, “I chose Mike Rogers, with the hope that he can serve in the tradition of John McCain: a senator willing to put country before party and stand up to his own side when conscience requires it.
What has troubled me almost as much as this experience is my party’s reaction. Instead of asking why a lifelong Democrat reached this point, some leaders rushed to condemn me, question my motives, and push me out. That response reveals something deeply troubling about what is missing in today’s Democratic Party. We cannot preach inclusion while punishing dissent. We cannot promise to heal a divided country if we cannot tolerate disagreement among ourselves. And we cannot build a lasting majority by making Americans feel their concerns are unwelcome.”
Watch her endorse Rogers here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video