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Dem Twists the Knife After Rival’s MAGA Betrayal

Abdul El-Sayed said he doesn’t “think about Haley Stevens” after the primary loser endorsed his Republican opponent.

Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed has refused to acknowledge his former primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, after she endorsed Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate just days before the midterm elections.

On Sunday afternoon, following a public appearance with Republican candidate and former Rep. Mike Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit, Stevens broke with the Democratic party and endorsed Rogers in a minute-long video posted to X. In the video, a breathless Stevens said the “hate” El-Sayed was allegedly promoting during his campaign led her to cross party lines.

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“As you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign, and that I should stay away,” Stevens said. “He’s right, and that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

Later that day, reporters gathered en-masse outside of the Northland Church of God in Christ in Detroit to get El-Sayed’s reaction to the controversy. But nearly every question related to Stevens was met with a dismissive pivot from the Democratic nominee.

A Fox News reporter asked El-Sayed if he believed Stevens had betrayed the Democratic party.

“I don’t know what that party is anymore,” El-Sayed said. “At the end of the day, I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens. I think about the 9,999,998 people who are not those two… I’m less interested in the politics of it all than I am in the policy of it all."

He continued, “If you’re somebody who believes we should stand up to hate, and you’ve watched this last campaign, I think we probably would not want to support Mike Rogers and Donald Trump and JD Vance.”

Steven’s congressional office did not respond to a request for comment. Many members of her staff have resigned since she made her announcement.

The Rogers campaign also did not respond to a request for comment.

Many Democratic voters and officials were furious with Stevens’ decision. According to reporting from Politico, some of her colleagues in the House of Representatives have called for her to be kicked out of her caucuses, including Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who endorsed Stevens in the primary, condemned her actions as a “despicable betrayal” in a social media post.

“Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors,” he wrote.

In an interview with Politico, Stevens maintained that she had been “gracious” with El-Sayed until she chose to endorse Rogers.

“I went into my heart. I made a decision. I wanted to be honest. I want everyone to make their decision. I’ve done this, you know, in the closing 48 hours. But Abdul is right that I am not welcome or a part of his campaign, even though I endorsed him,” Stevens told Politico.

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Christopher Buchanan

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