Politics

Michigan Democrats' leader says Haley Stevens is out of the party after she backed Trump pick Mike Rogers

Party chair Curtis Hertel says she won't be a member again. Schumer called her endorsement "a despicable betrayal."

Official portrait of Rep. Haley Stevens. U.S. House of Representatives photo, public domain, via the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.

The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party says Rep. Haley Stevens is no longer a member of the party, hours after she endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate on Sunday, two days before Election Day.

Stevens "is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future," party chair Curtis Hertel wrote on X, NBC News reported. The party hasn't described a formal expulsion process. Stevens called herself "still a very proud Democrat," NBC reported.

Stevens narrowly lost the August Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed. Days before Sunday, she had said she would back the Democratic ticket. Rogers is endorsed by President Trump.

Democrats condemn the move

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who backed Stevens in the primary, called it "a despicable betrayal," CBS News reported. Sen. Elissa Slotkin wrote that anyone who makes this election "about themselves" should ask whether they are serving the greater good. Virgie Rollins, chair of the DNC's Black Caucus, called Stevens "a sellout." Her chief of staff, Justin German, and other aides are resigning, NBC reported.

Her stated reasons

Stevens said El-Sayed told her she was no longer welcome in his campaign. She also pointed to his ties to left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, saying "repeated hate" was "not acceptable," CBS reported. The split traces to an outside group's ad linking U.S. military aid to Israel with grocery prices, which Stevens called antisemitic. El-Sayed said his campaign didn't make the ad and that he disagrees with it, the Associated Press reported.

El-Sayed would be the first Muslim U.S. senator. Trump attacked his faith at a Michigan rally last month.

What's at stake

The winner replaces retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, and the seat could decide Senate control. The Senate confirms federal judges and members of the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces workers' right to organize.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Check whether your state requires your employer to give you time off to vote.