Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed raised a record $2.4 million in a single day on November 1, 2026, following a surprise endorsement of Republican opponent Mike Rogers by former primary rival Representative Haley Stevens. The cross-party endorsement triggered fierce backlash within the Democratic Party, leading at least eight House Democrats to call for Stevens' expulsion from the caucus while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reaffirmed support for El-Sayed in the tightly contested Senate race.
Stevens' endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers
- ▪Representative Haley Stevens withdrew her endorsement and endorsed Republican candidate Mike Rogers for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat on November 1, 2026
- ▪Representative Haley Stevens described her decision to endorse Republican Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as a personal choice and accused El-Sayed of expressing rising anger during the campaign
Democratic calls to punish Haley Stevens
- ▪Under House Democratic Caucus rules, expelling a member for campaigning for a non-Democratic federal candidate requires a two-thirds vote of members present and voting
- ▪At least eight House Democrats, including Representatives Lateefah Simon, Marc Veasey, Emily Randall, and Pramila Jayapal, urged party leaders to punish or expel Representative Haley Stevens from the caucus
Democratic leaders backing Abdul El-Sayed
- ▪House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries publicly backed Abdul El-Sayed's Senate candidacy on November 1, 2026, characterizing Republican Mike Rogers as a partisan hack
- ▪Senators Elissa Slotkin and Elizabeth Warren were scheduled to join Abdul El-Sayed on the campaign trail in Michigan on November 2, 2026 following Haley Stevens' endorsement of Mike Rogers
Primary campaign clashes over Israel
- ▪Abdul El-Sayed criticized Representative Haley Stevens during their primary campaign for accepting campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
- ▪Representative Haley Stevens narrowly lost the August 2026 Michigan Democratic Senate primary election to Abdul El-Sayed amid a feud with him over Israel
Dispute over Rebellion PAC advertisement
- ▪Abdul El-Sayed stated that his campaign had no involvement with a recent advertisement paid for by Rebellion PAC linking support for Israel to higher grocery prices
- ▪Representative Haley Stevens pressed Abdul El-Sayed to condemn a recent advertisement funded by Rebellion PAC that linked support for Israel to elevated grocery prices
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