Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers told The Daily Wire that the endorsement from Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens has given people “permission” to back him over radical Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Rogers made the comment one day after Stevens’ shocking endorsement shook up the competitive race, which could determine control of the Senate. When asked about the endorsement by Daily Wire reporter Brecca Stoll on the eve of Election Day, he said he could feel the impact “beyond the shadow of a doubt.”
“What it did is, it gave a lot of folks permission. We talked to a lot of people who were undecided or on the fence, weren’t sure what to do. This just helps them, I think, clarify. And once you investigate it, there’s a whole host of Democrats who have done something very, very similar,” Rogers said.
Stevens appeared with Rogers over the weekend at a Sunday morning church service in Detroit shortly before she released a video endorsing the Republican. That came after El-Sayed asked her not to appear at any of his campaign events. While Stevens first endorsed El-Sayed after narrowly losing to him in the Democrat primary, their relationship soured over El-Sayed’s messaging on Israel.
“My decision to withdraw my endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed and support Mike Rogers has angered many Democrats. I understand why. But it was not impulsive, and it was not made for me by anyone else. It was a decision of conscience,” Stevens said Monday night.
She added that one of the reasons she turned on El-Sayed was his relationship with Hasan Piker, a radical streamer who once said America “deserved” the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“I asked Abdul to reject that rhetoric clearly. I wasn’t asking him to change his platform,” Stevens said. “I was offering him an opportunity to reassure people, reject division, and demonstrate the leadership required of a United States Senator.”
After Stevens’ endorsement, another Democrat, former Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI), also broke ranks to support Rogers on Sunday.
“Choi Clarke and I stand with Congresswoman Haley Stevens in supporting Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate,” Clarke said Sunday. “I served with Mike in the U.S. House of Representatives. I know that he is committed to improving the quality of our lives, protecting our nation’s security, and working with Democrats to get the job done.”
Rogers has pitched himself to Michigan voters as a moderate Republican and has called for ending the war in Iran, phasing out tariffs on Canada, and putting in place a temporary moratorium on data centers.
.png)
.png)
