Democrat Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's Senate Race. A Party Is Not a Conscience.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate on Sunday over her former primary rival, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, less than 48 hours before Election Day. Her statement followed a surprise appearance with Rogers at a church in Detroit, NPR reported.

"As you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he's right," Stevens said in a video posted Sunday, according to NPR. "And that's why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate today."

The winner on Tuesday will succeed Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is not seeking another term. The race is widely seen as one of the most competitive Senate contests in the country and could help decide which party controls the Senate, NBC News reported.

How the break happened

Stevens, a strong supporter of Israel, had backed El-Sayed after the primary. The rift between them centered on U.S. support for Israel. El-Sayed has called Israel's conduct in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks a genocide. The final break came over an ad by Rebellion PAC, an outside group, that showed a couple debating whether they could afford groceries because of U.S. support for Israel. El-Sayed's campaign has said it was not involved with the ad, CNBC reported.

Stevens demanded that El-Sayed reject the ad and apologize for rhetoric she considered inflammatory before she would join him and Rep. James Clyburn at a Sunday church event meant to unify the party. El-Sayed's campaign criticized the contents of the ad on Saturday. The event with El-Sayed and Clyburn went ahead without Stevens, NPR reported.

In her video, Stevens also cited the streamer Hasan Piker, who has appeared with El-Sayed. "I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses," she said. She said she was "still a very proud Democrat," NBC News reported.

In August, after Piker implied that Jews' support for Israel puts them at risk of personal violence, El-Sayed said Piker did not speak for the campaign but stopped short of disavowing him, NPR reported.

The reaction

Rogers said he was "honored" to have her support. "This is more a statement about standing together against hate and the future of this state and this country than it is anything else," Rogers said. Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel wrote that Stevens "is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future," NBC News reported.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement "a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens." President Trump praised it on Truth Social. Stevens' longtime chief of staff, Justin German, said many members of her team had resigned. "I'm sorry people are upset," Stevens told reporters. "I understand that," CNBC reported.

El-Sayed told reporters outside a church event that voters do not care about the feud. "None of this matters," he said, pointing instead to families worried about schools, groceries and medical bills, NPR reported.

Dock Line looked at another party fighting itself in the final days in South Carolina Senate Race: Darline Graham vs. Annie Andrews.

Opinion: A party is not a conscience

Haley Stevens will be called a traitor by her party and a hero by Republicans. Both labels miss the point. The real question is whether she acted on conviction or on a grudge, and only she knows her heart. What we can judge is the reason she gave.

Her reason is a serious one. An ad telling families they cannot afford groceries because of Israel is the kind of message that feeds an old and ugly hatred of the Jewish people. Christians should not shrug at that, whoever pays for it. Stevens asked her nominee to reject it plainly, and to keep his distance from a commentator who implied that Jews' support for Israel puts them at risk. That was a fair request.

Fairness also requires saying that El-Sayed's campaign did criticize the ad on Saturday, and that he says he had nothing to do with it. Stevens lost a close primary, and two days before an election is a hard time to ask voters to believe her move has nothing to do with that loss. Her staff walked out. Her timing will hurt people who trusted her.

Still, a party label is not a vow before God. No Christian owes a party his conscience. Scripture warns, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe." Politicians who stay silent about hatred because they fear their own side are caught in exactly that snare.

Michigan voters should not cast their ballots because of one congresswoman's endorsement. They should weigh the candidates on their records, on life, on the economy and on whether each man will stand against hatred of any people. That is the test Stevens says she applied. Every voter should apply it honestly, too.