« It's a Vile Betrayal »: In Michigan, a Democratic Lawmaker's Incredible Endorsement of the Republican Midterm Candidate

By Hélène Vissière, Washington

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ANALYSIS - Two days before a crucial Senate election, Representative Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed, has thrown her support behind her rival's Republican opponent.

On Sunday afternoon, just two days before the election, Haley Stevens—who lost the Democratic primary this summer to Abdul El-Sayed in the race for a Michigan Senate seat—announced that she is now backing Republican candidate Mike Rogers. It is an extraordinary stab in the back against a member of her own party. The reversal has hit like a bombshell, as Michigan is one of the most critical contests whose outcome could determine control of the Senate.

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The Democratic primary was particularly acrimonious and split the Democratic electorate between Haley Stevens, a centrist representative, and Abdul El-Sayed, a physician born to Egyptian Muslim parents and positioned much further to the left. Their main disagreement centered on U.S. support for Israel. The female candidate was backed by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, which poured more than $30 million into her campaign. Abdul El-Sayed, meanwhile, emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Israel, accusing it of…

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