Democrats Furious Over Stevens’ Michigan Senate Endorsement
In a stunning turn of events just days before Election Day, Democratic tensions in Michigan have erupted into open warfare. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost the August Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed, stunned party officials on Sunday by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers in the race to fill the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Gary Peters. The endorsement came after Stevens was uninvited to a joint event with El-Sayed the same day, highlighting the deep rift between the two Democrats. With less than 48 hours until polls close, a party that had spent months trying to unite behind its nominee is now grappling with an extraordinary defection in one of the year’s most critical races.nnThe fallout was immediate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had backed Stevens during the primary, called her endorsement a “despicable betrayal” and reaffirmed his support for El-Sayed. Schumer had endorsed El-Sayed after the primary despite policy differences, including on Israel. Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Schumer, told Newsweek on Monday that it had put $60 million into the race, underscoring the stakes. The relationship between Stevens and El-Sayed had deteriorated during the closing days of the campaign, and tensions have festered since the primary. Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, is a remarkable show of support for the Republican in a tightly contested race that could determine the balance of power on Capitol Hill.nnDemocrats currently hold a 53-47 majority, and they need to defend the Michigan seat while making gains elsewhere. Keeping Michigan in Democratic hands is vital to the party’s effort to win a majority for the final two years of Trump’s second term. The endorsement has left party officials furious and scrambling to contain the damage. Stevens’ move is seen as a sharp rebuke to El-Sayed and a sign of lingering bitterness from the primary, which she lost by a slim margin. With just hours to go, Democrats are now forced to confront an unprecedented public split that could have far-reaching consequences for their Senate hopes.nnThe episode has exposed raw nerves and raised questions about party unity. Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers, a Trump-backed candidate, is a dramatic escalation of the internal conflict
Shimanta Das 
