Michigan Senate race: Will Haley Stevens spoil the party for Democratic candidate El-Sayed?
asserted
Stevens → spoil → Sayed
Reporters were waiting outside the Detroit church where Democrat Haley Stevens was due to appear last Sunday morning with Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive physician who had defeated her in the primary, in a show of Democratic unity.
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who → wait → unity
Led by Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, one of the country’s most influential Black Democrats, the event was intended to signal an end to a bitter feud and rally Black voters, a crucial constituency that had backed Stevens.
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that → lead → Stevens
But Stevens never arrived.
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Stevens → arrive → ?
Instead, to the surprise of her own staff, she was sitting in a church pew miles away beside Mike Rogers, the Republican her party had spent millions trying to defeat.
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party → sit → millions
This year’s October surprise arrived on Nov. 1, when Stevens endorsed Rogers’ campaign in a Michigan Senate race that could determine control of Congress.
uncertain
that → arrive → Congress
When Abby Ronson, a Rogers spokesperson, posted a photograph of the pair on X, we — like other news media outlets — jumped in our van and raced across Detroit’s broad boulevards, quiet on a fall Sunday.
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we → post → Sunday
We drove past shuttered shops and factories to Perfecting Church, a Black Pentecostal church outside Detroit.
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We → drive → Detroit
By the time we arrived, television crews were already gathering around a makeshift microphone stand.
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crews → arrive → stand
As Stevens emerged through the church’s double doors, flanked by Rogers and his wife, reporters’ phones buzzed with a statement she had posted on X endorsing Rogers.
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she → emerge → Rogers
As reporters shouted questions and camera flashes lit up her face, Stevens stepped up to address the media.
“I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate,” Stevens told reporters.
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Stevens → shout → reporters
“This is a very close election, we all know that.
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we → know → that
But Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign, that he didn’t need me there, didn’t want me there.
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he → make → me
At some point, you’ve got to look at who’s standing for country.”
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who → get → country
Protesters standing with the media shouted “traitor!”
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Protesters → stand → traitor
The endorsement followed a week of public feuding between Stevens, a centrist, and El-Sayed over his stance on U.S. support for Israel.
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endorsement → follow → Israel
It also marked a striking reversal for a lawmaker who had recently urged voters to reject Rogers.
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who → mark → Rogers
We can’t afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November,” she posted on X in August.
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she → afford → August
Republicans across the country celebrated a twist they hope will translate into votes on Tuesday.
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they → celebrate → Tuesday
Speaking at a campaign rally in Iowa, President Donald Trump called Stevens’s decision “brave” and said, “I’d love her to join the Republican Party.”
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her → speak → Party
Michigan Senate race splits Democrats over Israel
Democrats condemned the endorsement as a betrayal.
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Democrats → split → betrayal
More than half of Stevens’s staff quit in the hours after her announcement.
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half → quit → announcement
“We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens’s decision to support Mike Rogers,” her chief of staff, Justin German, said in a statement.
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chief → shock → statement
The rupture exposed divisions over Israel that have roiled the Democratic Party, even as it gains wider support amongst voters.
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it → expose → voters
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, poured tens of millions of dollars into supporting Stevens.
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Committee → pour → Stevens
El-Sayed, who would become the country’s first Muslim senator if elected, has described the war in Gaza as “a genocide.”
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who → become → genocide
For several voters interviewed on Sunday, however, the political drama did little to change their calculations.
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drama → interview → calculations
Kennedi Young, a 20-year-old university student, described the joint appearance as a “nice tactic to try to appeal to black voters,” but doubted it would sway her friends and family.
“I don’t feel like [Rogers and Stevens] came for the service,” she said.
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she → describe → service
Adrienne Bronaugh, 70, attended the service with Rogers and Stevens but had already voted for El-Sayed.
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Bronaugh → attend → Sayed
She said she “doesn’t trust Rogers” and was more concerned about the cost of tariffs on Canada.
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she → say → Canada
Tariffs imposed since Trump returned to office have disproportionately affected Michigan, a state bordering Canada that relies on imports to fuel its manufacturing industry.
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that → impose → industry
The Canadian flag flutters just across the river from downtown Detroit.
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flag → flutter → Detroit
Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports include 25% on vehicles and auto parts and 50% on steel, aluminium, and copper, with exemptions for some products.
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tariffs → include → products
Introduced in 2025, the tariffs have remained widely unpopular.
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tariffs → introduce → 2025
Some 60 per cent of Americans disapprove of the tariff increases, according to a February poll.
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cent → disapprove → poll
America is “making a mess with our neighbours across the border,” she said.
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she → make → border
“The tariffs are impacting all of us…
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tariffs → impact → us
We’re paying more for everything.”
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We → pay → everything
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