Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Senate opponent of El-Sayed in Michigan in spat over Israel

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s former opponent in the US Senate primary, Haley Stevens, stuns party officials by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers, after Democratic tensions boiled over days before the election that could determine the balance of power on Capitol Hill.

Stevens endorses Rogers after attending a Detroit church service with him. The remarkable show of support for US President Donald Trump’s backed candidate in the tightly contested race comes after she was uninvited to a joint event the same day with El-Sayed, who defeated the congresswoman by a slim margin in the August primary.

“Our Democratic nominee for Senate said I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” Stevens says in a video announcing the endorsement. “And he’s right. And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”

While Stevens has been critical of El-Sayed’s comments surrounding Israel, she had recently reaffirmed she would vote for the former public health official who would be the country’s first Muslim senator if elected Tuesday.

Stevens was initially set to join El-Sayed and US Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina at a Democratic unity church event. Those plans unraveled after a dispute over Israel and an outside group’s campaign advertisement escalated into a public exchange of criticism between the rivals.

At the church north of Detroit, Stevens and fiancé Jason Turkish worship with Rogers and his wife, Kristi. Turkish said last week that he was going to vote for Rogers, arguing that El-Sayed had not done enough to address the Jewish community’s concerns.