WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats are poised to take control of the U.S. House, and Republicans are doing everything in their power to ensure they keep the Senate.
Whether Republicans can hold the line in the upper chamber depends on a handful of key Senate races that are neck-and-neck. Among the most closely watched races on Tuesday will be Michigan’s Senate race.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Democratic nominee for Michigan Senate, spent Monday campaigning at stops in and around Detroit.
At the Majestic Theatre in downtown Detroit, El-Sayed delivered his final pitch to voters ahead of the election, with the goal of getting out the vote. The final full day of campaigning comes on the heels of a surprise endorsement on Sunday that shocked both sides of the political spectrum.
El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, was endorsed by Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, D-Mich., El-Sayed’s Democratic primary opponent.
“The Michigan Democratic Party stands united and fully behind Abdul El-Sayed. Haley Stevens’ decision to campaign with Rogers shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel in a statement Sunday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who endorsed Stevens in the primary, called her abrupt endorsement “a despicable betrayal.”
“Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors,” Schumer wrote on social media.
Stevens and El-Sayed were expected to appear together over the weekend, but they instead traded barbs Friday over a controversial ad criticizing U.S. aid to Israel. That riff appeared to be the nail in the coffin on an already bumpy relationship between the former Democratic primary opponents.
Rogers told Washington correspondent Brendan Scanland on Monday that Stevens’ decision was based on El-Sayed’s “behavior and divisiveness.” Still, Rogers was surprised by the last-minute endorsement.
“Very surprised. I mean, welcome surprised. I had said in a press conference early, they said, would you campaign with Haley Stevens if she wanted to? And I said, sure, I absolutely would. She’s very respected. She’s accomplished, you know, she has great accomplishments in Congress,” said Rogers.
“We’re going to make a very major decision here tomorrow. And people need to understand how many Democrats think this guy is too extreme for our state and what that means for the future of our state,” Rogers said. “If it weren’t for Haley Stevens yesterday, nobody would know how many Democrats have come out and said he’s too extreme.”
“I was just like, Why?” said Allison Lagrois, an El-Sayed supporter from Royal Oak, Mich.
Lagrois does not believe the Stevens endorsement will impact support for El-Sayed.
“No, I really do not,” Lagrois said.
Shortly after Stevens endorsed Rogers, El-Sayed’s campaign reported its biggest fundraising day yet, bringing in more than $2.4 million on Sunday alone.
“I think that he’s got a great support system and he’s got a lot of other people that are honestly better than her,” Lagrois said.
As of early Monday, roughly 2.5 million Michiganders have voted early out of about 7.4 million registered voters.
