Democrats are rallying around Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after his former Democratic primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in the final days of the campaign.
"This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said in a statement, in which he also condemned an increase in anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed by Republicans in the final weeks of the campaign. "Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed," Schumer said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) didn't mention Stevens by name, but issued a statement after her endorsement urging people to vote for El-Sayed, calling his election "critical to flipping control of the United States Senate."
Michigan Democrats also broadly rejected Stevens' move. In a statement, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D., Mich.) said Michigan voters were concerned with everyday costs -of -living, not Stevens's "continued efforts to get attention." Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens "has abandoned everything she claims to care about" by endorsing Rogers, while noting the Republican was anti-abortion and would support Trump's agenda if elected. He later posted on X that Stevens "is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future."
"Haley's endorsement of Rogers in the MI senate race is appalling," former Rep. Susan Wild (D., Pa.), who was elected to Congress alongside Stevens in 2018 and lived with her in Washington, wrote on X.