El-Sayed Campaign Says It Raised a Record $2.4M in One Day After Democrat Haley Stevens Endorsed Mike Rogers

Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate campaign says it raised a record $2.4 million (about £1.79 million) on Sunday, 1 November, the day his former primary rival, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, endorsed his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.

More than 65,000 donors gave an average of $36.74 (about £27.40), and 29,602 of them were first-time contributors, according to figures the campaign released early Monday. The numbers have not been independently verified.

Half of the total, $1.2 million (about £895,000), came in the four hours after Stevens' announcement, the campaign said on Sunday evening.

Why Haley Stevens Withdrew Her Backing

Stevens lost the 4 August Democratic primary to El-Sayed by about one percentage point and endorsed him afterwards. That same month, she had warned on social media that Rogers would be 'another rubber stamp for Donald Trump's dangerous agenda.'

Their relationship unravelled in the final week. Stevens demanded that El-Sayed condemn an ad by the outside group Rebellion PAC that tied rising grocery prices to US military aid to Israel. She called it antisemitic. El-Sayed distanced himself from the ad but accused her of reopening a primary that ended three months earlier.

She also objected to his ties to Hasan Piker, a left-wing streamer whose past remarks have drawn accusations of antisemitism. El-Sayed has sought to distance himself from Piker in recent months.

On Wednesday, 28 October, Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and civil rights attorney, said he would vote for Rogers, citing El-Sayed's rhetoric on Israel. Stevens said at the time that she still supported the nominee.

Haley Stevens' Overnight Switch in Detroit

Stevens had been due to appear with El-Sayed and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn at a Sunday unity event in Detroit. By Saturday, El-Sayed's campaign had asked her not to attend his events. 'I would rather not distract from the key issues of this campaign,' he said. Organiser Rep. Debbie Dingell then called off the joint appearance.

That evening, Dingell and Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke with Stevens, and both said she assured them she would still vote for El-Sayed. At around 11 a.m. on Sunday, she instead sat beside Rogers during a service at Perfecting Church in Detroit, then announced her endorsement in a video on X.

'Our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he's right,' she said.

Asked on CNN that night what had changed since Saturday, Stevens gave no direct answer. 'I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and, you know, focused on what was in my heart, and that's that,' she said.

Rogers, a Trump-backed former congressman, called the pairing 'a statement about standing together against hate.'

Democrats Close Ranks Around El-Sayed

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who backed Stevens in the primary, called her move a 'despicable betrayal'. State party Chair Curtis Hertel said she 'is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.' Her chief of staff, Justin German, and other aides resigned. President Donald Trump praised her on Truth Social.

'At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens,' El-Sayed told reporters.

In a post on X late on Monday, US time, Stevens wrote, 'Once I concluded that Abdul El-Sayed is not fit to serve in the United States Senate, I had to confront who should.' She denied that Turkish had influenced her.

Her defection carried weight in Wayne and Oakland counties, where she beat El-Sayed in the primary with support from Black and Jewish voters. Yet on Monday, the Cook Political Report moved the race from Toss Up to Lean Democrat. It cited new polling, including a weekend New York Times/Siena survey that put El-Sayed 11 points ahead, and said the Times poll showed him shoring up support among Black voters.

El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, is seeking retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters' seat in a race that could decide Senate control. He would be the first Muslim US senator. Republicans have not won a Michigan Senate race since 1994. Election Day is today, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.