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For Haley Stevens, the journey from Democratic Senate candidate to campaigning alongside a Republican she once labeled a rubber stamp for Donald Trump has been remarkably brief, with the issue of Israel driving almost every twist and turn.
The Pivot to Endorsing a Republican
After failing to defeat Abdul El-Sayed in the primary, Stevens chose on Sunday to support Republican Mike Rogers, a candidate she previously warned would enable Trump’s agenda. The decision stemmed from the Democratic nominee’s refusal to share her position on Israel. According to The Guardian, this extraordinary reversal represents more than a personal feud or a bruised political ego, serving instead as the culmination of a fight over Israel that has come to define her political persona and seemingly eclipsed her commitment to the Democratic party and its opposition to Donald Trump.
The issue continues to challenge the wider Democratic party, particularly regarding candidates accepting funds from Aipac, the country’s largest pro-Israel lobby and a major spender in US elections. While other Democratic candidates have distanced themselves from the Aipac brand as voters grow increasingly skeptical of the US-Israel relationship, Stevens has doubled down. Earlier this year, Aipac and its affiliates invested about $30m to secure Stevens’s primary victory in an effort to stop El-Sayed, marking their largest ever investment in a single race.
Although she lost, Stevens continued the conflict over Israel, demanding that El-Sayed distance himself from an outside group’s advertisement that blamed rising grocery costs on American support for Israel days before the election. The advertisement was not produced by his campaign, and El-Sayed explicitly rejected its contents, but Stevens found the response insufficient.
Fallout and Intra-Party Backlash
Stevens had been scheduled to appear alongside El-Sayed and veteran congressman Jim Clyburn at a predominantly Black Detroit church on Sunday to demonstrate Democratic unity. Instead, she released a statement attacking El-Sayed over alleged antisemitism and his associations, leading to her exclusion from campaign events—a development she took personally. During a subsequent CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, Stevens struggled to explain her rapid shift from assuring fellow Democrats of her support the previous evening to endorsing Rogers the following morning. “This is just a weight off my shoulders,” she said, repeatedly citing El-Sayed’s supposed anger and lack of kindness, while Cooper noted that her criticisms had been known for some time.
The response from Democrats has been unified and severe. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called her move “a despicable betrayal,” while Michigan representative Debbie Dingell stated, “She seriously hurt herself.” Michigan Democratic party chair Curtis Hertel declared that Stevens was no longer a member of the party and would not be in the future. Observers have also raised concerns regarding the influence of her fiance, Jason Turkish, a pro-Israel lawyer who previously donated to Democrats before backing Rogers and other Republicans like Maine senator Susan Collins.
By supporting Rogers, Stevens is aligning herself even closer to Israel. Rogers had initially been skeptical of Aipac’s support, but the group reportedly spent $9m to back him after Stevens lost the primary. Over the weekend, Drop Site News reported numerous ties between his campaign and the Israeli government.
Diverging Platforms and Broader Context
Israel has not been the primary focus of the El-Sayed campaign. Over the past year, he focused his message on getting money out of politics, putting money in voters’ pockets, and Medicare for All, while stirring controversy by suggesting US military aid to Israel would be better used domestically and campaigning with progressive influencer Hasan Piker. Stevens, who tweeted “Medicare for all. NOW.” in 2018, now opposes universal healthcare and has consistently taken corporate political action committee money. Despite sitting much closer to El-Sayed on nearly every issue compared to Rogers—a Trump-endorsed Republican with a record of voting for abortion restrictions—Stevens chose Rogers.
Meanwhile, El-Sayed has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to Jewish safety, stating, “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” while condemning antisemitism and arguing that the US should halt military assistance to Israel. This distinction holds significant weight given that a United Nations independent commission of inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Around the same time, Democratic senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley concluded after a fact-finding mission that Israel was pursuing a systematic campaign to destroy and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza, accusing the US of complicity. Furthermore, a May New York Times/Siena poll found that 74% of Democratic voters oppose further military and economic support for Israel.
Stevens’s intervention threatens to undermine efforts to unite Democrats behind El-Sayed following a divisive primary and appears to reinforce his argument that the party establishment has made support for Israel a condition of political acceptance. Donald Trump celebrated her endorsement of Rogers, calling her highly respected and suggesting she should join the Republican party, whereas El-Sayed responded simply, “I actually don’t think about Haley Stevens.”
