El-Sayed urges Michigan voters to cast ballots after Stevens endorses Republican rival

Abdul El-Sayed focused on voter turnout rather than party infighting during a Monday morning rally at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. The Senate nominee held the event after his former primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens, endorsed Republican candidate Mike Rogers on Sunday. El-Sayed did not address the controversy directly during his speech. He told supporters that the campaign centers on voters rather than himself. When asked by reporters about the impact of the endorsement, he advised nervous supporters to simply go vote.

El-Sayed stated there is only one way to control the election outcome. He was joined on stage by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and his own grandparents. The gathering marked a final push for Democrats before Election Day Tuesday. Over 2.3 million Michigan voters had already cast ballots as of Monday. The state's regular early in-person voting period concluded Sunday. Polls reopened statewide for the general election.

The political shift stems from a dispute over a planned unity event that Stevens and El-Sayed were set to share. Rep. Debbie Dingell, a senior Democratic figure, said she uninvited Stevens from the event because their disagreement over Israel became distracting. Dingell and other party leaders claimed Stevens had promised the dispute would not affect her support. Stevens instead appeared at Perfecting Church in Detroit with Rogers on Sunday morning. She announced her endorsement shortly after the joint appearance. Stevens told CNN that the move was a weight off her shoulders and a response to El-Sayed's anger.

Rogers' campaign described the endorsement as a political coup. According to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions, Rogers personally contacted Stevens over the weekend. His own staff learned of the planned church appearance only on Sunday morning. The campaign began touting the endorsement to voters immediately. For Democrats, the defection exposed divisions that had persisted since El-Sayed defeated Stevens by approximately 14,000 votes in the August primary. The primary was marked by disagreements regarding Israel and the war in Gaza.

Party leaders said the endorsement would energize their base despite the surprise. El-Sayed raised $2.4 million on Sunday, which was his largest fundraising day of the campaign. The state Democratic party reported a surge in volunteers eager to knock on doors. Curtis Hertel, the Michigan Democratic Party Chair, said the endorsement galvanized Democrats without changing the fundamental trajectory of the race. Lori Goldman, a Democratic organizer in Oakland County, noted that while half of the electorate has already voted, the drama could matter significantly to the remaining undecided voters.

Local Democrats expressed frustration with Stevens, who had previously received strong backing from Black and Jewish communities. Casandra Sims, a Black resident of West Bloomfield who had supported Stevens in the past, called the endorsement shocking and disappointing. Debbie Rosenman, who leads two Democratic organizations in southeast Michigan, reported that local members felt betrayed. Adrian Hemond, a strategist who plans to leave the Senate race blank, argued the move stemmed from personal animosity rather than policy differences. He said the endorsement had zero to do with substance and was a result of personal friction between the two candidates.