By Michigan Democrats’ effort to project unity before Election Day took a sharp turn Sunday when Rep. Haley Stevens appeared alongside Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers at a Black church in Detroit. The appearance followed days of public clashes between Stevens and Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed over Israel, campaign messaging, and his outreach to voters who supported her in the primary.
Stevens joined Rogers at Perfecting Church just two days before the midterms. A Rogers campaign spokesperson circulated a photograph of the pair with the caption, “We have a state to save, Michigan.” In video shared by a reporter at the event, Stevens said Rogers would support investment in Black-owned businesses. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
STEVENS: "My vote for Senate will be for Mike Rogers because we have to stand with country. We can't stand with hate, we can't stand with Hasan Piker… I stood with my party and I was booed off the stage." pic.twitter.com/8JPKDgidoN
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 1, 2026
Following her appearance she released a video endorsing Mike Rogers, the Republican. She had said she had done everything she could to support her party’s nominee but his refusal to condemn the antisemitism coming out of his camp was too much.
I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. pic.twitter.com/pQgfSBuhOJ
— Haley Stevens (@HaleyforMI) November 1, 2026
The split did not begin with the failed church appearance. During the primary, El-Sayed’s campaign attacked Stevens for supporting a bipartisan House resolution honoring Charlie Kirk after his assassination. Dingell and other Michigan Democrats also supported the measure, but the campaign singled out Stevens, underscoring how bitter the contest had become well before party leaders tried to reunite the candidates.
El-Sayed’s problems reassuring Jewish voters also predate the latest advertisement. Former Obama administration official Van Jones criticized his proposed arms embargo on Israel, including defensive weapons, calling the position “insane” and his foreign-policy views “incredibly dangerous.” El-Sayed also faced backlash after saying “hurt people hurt people” while discussing the attacker’s reported grievances following the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. He later apologized to Michigan’s Jewish Democratic Caucus, acknowledging that his remarks caused additional pain and that the immediate aftermath was not the appropriate time to offer that context.
That effort began unraveling publicly Wednesday, when Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, said he would vote for Rogers. Stevens reaffirmed her own support for El-Sayed but urged him to condemn a Rebellion PAC advertisement blaming Israel for high American grocery prices and remove a campaign ad featuring Tucker Carlson.
He was angry over an antisemitic ad launched by Hasan Piker’s uncle that smacked of antisemitism and appeared to blame Jews for the high cost of goods like bananas. The ad was condemned by many liberals, but mostly downplayed by El-Sayed:
This is disgusting, blatant antisemitism. The vitriol of Cenk and his nephew are going to cost us this seat. El-Sayed should disavow this ad! https://t.co/qCNfOnccdL
— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) October 25, 2026
Reps. Jim Clyburn and Debbie Dingell intervened Thursday, brokering a planned church appearance with Stevens and El-Sayed. By Friday, Stevens had made her participation contingent on El-Sayed condemning the outside group’s advertisement, apologizing for campaign rhetoric she said demonized Israel, and taking down the Carlson ad. El-Sayed pushed back and attacked Stevens.
On Saturday, Dingell said she had changed her mind and asked Stevens to stay away from joint appearances before Election Day. Stevens remained undecided that day about attending a Sunday event with Clyburn and El-Sayed. Her subsequent appearance with Rogers gave Republicans an opening as Democrats struggled to repair their own coalition.
One of El-Sayed’s top promoters, Cenk Uygur went on to make a racist comment about black voters, as well:
If you're black, I have the easiest Halloween costume for you. Wrap an Israeli flag around you, and just start calling everyone you see an antisemite. Voila, you're @VanJones68.
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) October 31, 2026
The dispute also unfolded amid anger over remarks by Hasan Piker, a prominent El-Sayed surrogate during the primary. In a livestream, Piker compared heavily Jewish West Bloomfield to a Ku Klux Klan neighborhood.
🚨🚨 Abdul El-Sayed surrogate Hasan Piker crashes out over El-Sayed’s canvassers knocking doors in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Piker compares it to “going to that like Klan KKK neighborhood to stump for like a Black candidate.”
“It’s racial supremacy. It’s Jewish supremacy. What… pic.twitter.com/Wt7bws1Clp
— Max 📟 (@MaxNordau) October 30, 2026
“I don’t think this is insensitive to say — this is the equivalent of going to that like KKK neighborhood to stump for a Black candidate who’s running expressly … to abolish anti-miscegenation laws.”
Piker described the “supremacist attitude underlying their worldview” as “identical. … It’s racial supremacy. It’s Jewish supremacy,” and added, “Thank god they probably don’t own any guns.”
State Rep. Noah Arbit, whose district includes the community, warned that the remarks could incite violence and urged elected officials and candidates to repudiate them clearly. With Election Day approaching, those disputes had moved beyond arguments over campaign messaging. Michigan Democrats were trying to bring their voters together while one of their own members stood beside the Republican nominee.
Democratic leaders had hoped to close the campaign by bringing Stevens back into the fold. Instead, their growing antisemitism problem may see Michigan end up electing a Republican.
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