Rep. Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Rival Days After Pro-Israel PACs Spent Millions Against Her Primary Opponent

Rep. Haley Stevens lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August. Less than 48 hours before November's general election, she endorsed his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, a man she had previously called a "rubber stamp for Donald Trump's dangerous agenda."

The reversal followed a primary contest marked by unusually heavy spending from pro-Israel super PACs. According to reporting by Responsible Statecraft, those groups spent more than $30 million on television and social media advertising backing Stevens and attacking El-Sayed, who had criticized U.S. military aid to Israel during its war in Gaza. The figure has not been independently verified against FEC or super PAC disclosure filings.

El-Sayed won the primary anyway. Stevens then did something her own supporters had not anticipated: she abandoned the party altogether, appearing publicly with Rogers and lending him her endorsement.

Rogers' campaign has its own ties to pro-Israel advocacy. Drop Site News reported that two of his staffers, spokesperson Abby Ronson and communications aide Jesse Stokes, are registered foreign agents for the state of Israel. Occupation Watch has not independently confirmed their current FARA registration status.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, according to Responsible Statecraft, called Stevens' defection a "despicable betrayal." The outlet also reported that Schumer told the New York Times last year, in comments that have not been independently located by this desk, "My job is to keep the left pro-Israel."

"My job is to keep the left pro-Israel."

That quote, if accurately attributed, would describe precisely the dynamic that played out in Michigan: a Democratic primary flooded with out-of-state, out-of-party money aimed at defeating a candidate critical of Israel, followed by silence from party leadership until the race's final days.

Stevens has previously been quoted saying "I see Israel in my dreams," a remark Responsible Statecraft cites without a specific date or venue. Polling cited in the same report, also without a named source, suggests nearly three-quarters of Democratic voters oppose additional U.S. military and economic support for Israel, a gap that may explain why pro-Israel-funded ads in the primary reportedly avoided mentioning Israel at all.

When Stevens lost anyway, the same donor network did not retreat. It shifted to backing Rogers in the general election, a move Responsible Statecraft frames as evidence the lobby is not loyal to either party, only to candidates who support continued U.S. backing for Israel's military.

The Michigan Senate race offers a documented case of how pro-Israel money operates across a single election cycle: funding one party's internal primary, then pivoting to the other party's nominee when the first bet fails. The dollar figures and staffing ties are drawn from third-party reporting that Occupation Watch has not independently verified line by line, but the sequence of endorsements and the underlying spending pattern are part of the public record.