A Democrat Endorses the Republican: Haley Stevens Backs Mike Rogers in Michigan's Senate Race
Two days before an election that could decide the Senate's balance, Abdul El-Sayed's former primary opponent endorsed his Republican rival after attending a Detroit church service with him — a defection the Associated Press called stunning to party officials.
Detroit — Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's former opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, Haley Stevens, has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, stunning party officials days before an election that could determine the balance of power in the Senate, the Associated Press reported in its early-Monday news summary.
Stevens endorsed Rogers after attending a Detroit church service with him on Sunday. The show of support for President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate came after Stevens was uninvited to a joint event the same day with El-Sayed, according to AP.
El-Sayed dismissed the endorsement, saying he is focused on the issues voters care about, AP reported. The cross-party move lands in the final 48 hours of the campaign, when both parties are fighting over a small set of Senate races that will decide which party organizes the chamber in January.
For Florida voters watching the national map on the eve of their own Election Day, Michigan is one of the races that will shape the Congress that takes up the next two years of legislation — and Sunday's endorsement is the kind of late break campaigns cannot buy and opponents cannot schedule.
