Haley Stevens Backs Republican Mike Rogers, Triggering Staff Exodus Before Michigan Senate Election

Rep. Haley Stevens’ last-minute endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers has sparked a revolt within her congressional office and an angry backlash from Democratic leaders, intensifying Michigan’s political turmoil just before Election Day.

Stevens, who lost the Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, announced Sunday that she would support Rogers instead. She appeared alongside him at Detroit’s Perfecting Church, reversing her earlier support for her party’s nominee.

The consequences inside her office were immediate.

Justin German, her chief of staff since she entered Congress, announced his resignation and said other employees had also stepped down. He expressed support for El-Sayed and described the team as shocked by Stevens’ decision.

The Detroit Free Press subsequently reported that well over half her congressional staff had quit. An exact count was not available.

The endorsement followed an escalating dispute over campaign messaging and Stevens’ participation in Democratic events. She had demanded that El-Sayed reject an outside group’s advertisement linking support for Israel to grocery prices. The group was not affiliated with his campaign.

Stevens said she had been told she was no longer welcome on the campaign trail. Rep. Debbie Dingell, who helped organize a planned unity appearance, said she asked Stevens not to attend because the controversy had become a distraction. El-Sayed subsequently rejected the outside advertisement’s message.

Stevens defended her endorsement during a Sunday-night interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who pressed her about the reversal and its implications for Democratic control of the Senate.

Democratic leaders responded sharply. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the decision, while Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Stevens was not a current member of the state party and would not be one in the future.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin urged attention to voters’ economic concerns rather than political personalities and reaffirmed her support for El-Sayed.

Sen. Bernie Sanders supported the departing staffers and accused Stevens of putting personal grievances ahead of the election. Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, meanwhile, praised Stevens and offered assistance with her remaining congressional responsibilities.

El-Sayed brushed aside the endorsement, saying his focus remained on Michigan residents and the cost of living. He and Rogers are competing for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, making the race consequential to both parties’ hopes of controlling the Senate.

Whether Stevens’ intervention changes votes remains uncertain. What it has already changed is the closing argument of Michigan’s Senate campaign—and the staffing of her own congressional office.