Congresswoman Haley Stevens has been kicked out of the Democratic Party after she shockingly announced on Sunday she was endorsing Abdul El-Sayed's Republican rival in the US senate race - just two days before the election.
The Michigan politician said Sunday she had decided to vote for Representative Mike Rogers over El-Sayed in the midterm election because her one-time Democratic rival 'chose to close his campaign by saying I wasn't welcome.
'I've never been invited to a campaign event - that's fine, you know, he's busy, he's running all around. I've had primaries myself. It's not about that,' she then claimed. 'This is about leadership and integrity, this is about looking in the mirror.'
Stevens then went on to maintain that she was 'still a very proud Democrat.'
But Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel made clear that the congresswoman is no longer welcome in the party – as President Donald Trump welcomed Stevens to the GOP.
'Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future,' he declared on social media.
Hertel then raged against Stevens's decision in an interview with reporters, comparing her endorsement of Rogers to a high school clique fight and saying she 'abandoned' her constituents at the worst possible moment.
'You don't abandon all your values because this is not high school,' Hertel said. 'This is not like... drama club or glee club! This is the Democratic Party. We're a force for good in the world.'
Congresswoman Haley Stevens has been kicked out of the Democratic Party after she shockingly announced on Sunday she was endorsing Abdul El-Sayed's Republican rival
Stevens said Sunday she had decided to vote for Representative Mike Rogers over El-Sayed in the midterm election
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel made clear on social media that the congresswoman is no longer welcome in the party
'If you are a member of it, you believe that if Democrats get elected, it will make people's lives better. And she believed that, I guess, her entire life until now.'
Hertel went on to scoff at the idea that Stevens wouldn't endorse El-Sayed because she was 'not invited' and blamed her decision to back Rogers on 'sour grapes from the election' three months after she lost in a bitter primary battle to El-Sayed.
'But there's no reasonable explanation for this,' he said. 'I've known Haley Stevens a long time and I know what she's fought for in her career, and this is the antithesis of all of that.'
'At this point, she has abandoned who she's been and therefore none of us can stand with that,' Hertel added.
'The people of Michigan are betrayed. The people that supported her are betrayed.
'You know, elections aren't about us,' he continued. 'They're about the things that we fight for.'
The Democratic Party leader then went on to claim Rogers 'will be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump and all the hate that happens.
'And for [Stevens] to come into this city, a city that I grew up in, to say that she speaks for black people when she supports somebody who is being supported by the people that try to strip the Voting Rights Act, that are going into our cities and murdering our citizens, the fact that they gave tax cuts to billionaires while healthcare was being stripped away from people in this community, in this state - the idea that she would side with that, it's an abomination.
'Either Haley Stevens is not who she said she would be or there's something very wrong with her right now.'
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel made clear that the congresswoman is no longer welcome in the party
Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel says Haley Stevens abandoned the Democratic Party and is no longer a member of the state party. He criticizes Stevens for rolling out her Mike Rogers endorsement in Detroit, and says she betrayed her supporters. pic.twitter.com/8i8zZp5oW5
— Sam Robinson (@samueljrob) November 1, 2026
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said on Sunday Stevens 'was very brave' to cross the aisle and endorse a Republican.
'I don't know Haley, I've never met Haley. But Haley said what few people were willing to say,' he told reporters ahead of a rally in Iowa.
'I'd love her to join the Republican Party actually,' he said.
The unusual scene comes amid a midterms battle in Michigan that is marred with Democratic infighting. It's understood Stevens was meant to go to church with El-Sayed instead, but those plans did not go ahead as their relationship soured.
The strained relationship among the Michigan Democrats started when Stevens's fiancé, Jason Turkish, said Wednesday that he would be casting a vote for El-Sayed's opponent, Rogers.
Stevens appeared on CNN hours later to reaffirm that she would be voting for El-Sayed, but urged his campaign to 'shut out the hate and call it out.'
On Thursday, the two seemed to make amends and scheduled a Sunday campaign event at a church in Detroit with South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, an influential Democrat seen as a major force in Joe Biden's 2020 primary win.
Stevens then released a social media statement on Friday criticizing El-Sayed and demanding he condemn an ad linking US support for Israel to rising grocery prices.
Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, said Wednesday that he would be casting a vote for Republican candidate Mike Rogers
President Donald Trump said Sunday he would welcome Stevens into the Republican party
The ad features moments during conversations in a grocery store, including one where a woman tells a man she can't afford eggs because they had to use their money 'killing Palestinians.'
El-Sayed's campaign has noted that the ad was not made or endorsed by the campaign and said it 'has always been focused on addressing the most critical challenges Michiganders are facing.'
El-Sayed himself told reporters on Saturday that he did 'not agree with the contents of that ad.'
In response, Stevens said she was glad to see El-Sayed say he did not agree 'with the content of the vile... ad which claimed Israel and Jews were to blame for the high costs of groceries.'
She did not refer to El-Sayed by name and only called him 'our senate nominee,' according to the statement reported by Semafor's Nicholas Wu.
But El-Sayed's campaign then asked Stevens to stay away from the church event, MS NOW reported Saturday.
El-Sayed sidestepped questions from reporters about whether he wanted Stevens to appear with him, saying that she 'wants to talk about other things.'
When directly asked if Stevens was 'trying to rat f***' his campaign, he laughed and said: 'That is not a question for me.'
El-Sayed sidestepped questions about his campaign's refusal to appear with Stevens
Instead, Stevens was seen Sunday strutting into the church and hugging Rogers, before announcing that the Republican would take on her initiative of investing in black businesses.
Just minutes after the church service ended, Stevens held a press conference to announce her formal endorsement of the Republican.
She said that her own household was 'divided - until last night' when she decided to cast her ballot for Rogers. Stevens noted that her party comrade El-Sayed made it clear that he did not need her help for the rest of his ongoing campaign.
Stevens, who also reiterated her unwavering dedication to the Democratic Party, said: 'My vote will be with Mike Rogers. Because we have to stand with country.
'We cannot stand for hate.
'Abdul was very clear when he said "don't come." Everyone can take a look at the facts. This is about leadership and integrity.'
Rogers then said: 'I am honored to have Haley Stevens's support and her vote today. I'm candidly happy I'm not running against [her].'
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