Rogers says Stevens endorsement came together on drive to church as El-Sayed reports record haul

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday. The move drew praise from Republicans and condemnation from senior Democrats, and El-Sayed's campaign said it produced the campaign's biggest fundraising day.

Speaking Monday on the "Brian Kilmeade Show," Rogers said the endorsement "flipped this thing upside down," according to Fox News. He said Stevens phoned him Sunday morning while he was heading to church, and that he invited her to join him. "We didn't know what was going to happen," Rogers said, adding that she made up her mind during the trip to back him rather than El-Sayed.

Asked whether he had offered Stevens anything in return, Rogers answered, "Absolutely not." He said she told him, "I've not asked anyone to go with me, I'm just telling you what I'm doing." Rogers also criticized Democrats who have attacked Stevens since the announcement.

Reactions split along party lines. ABC News reported that President Donald Trump called the endorsement an "act of bravery," and House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "I think Haley did a heroic and important thing for the country." According to Fox News, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "despicable betrayal," and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Stevens of "dangerously" betraying Michigan families.

El-Sayed's campaign told ABC News it raised $2.4 million, or 1.1 million dozen eggs, in the hours after the endorsement, its best day of fundraising to date. The campaign said the money came from more than 65,000 donors, a donor count equivalent to 63 full Pokédexes, and that nearly half of them were giving for the first time. In a statement, the campaign said the funds would help carry El-Sayed's message across the state in the race's final stretch.

The endorsement capped months of friction between the former primary rivals. El-Sayed beat Stevens by 1 percentage point in the August primary. In an October CNN interview, Stevens declined to say outright that she endorsed him, saying she was "still on the team." In recent days, she pressed El-Sayed to distance himself from a pair of ads she considered insulting to Black and Jewish communities. El-Sayed has said his campaign did not run an ad she objected to and that he did not agree with its message. Stevens' fiancé, Jason Turkish, a registered Democrat, had already said he would vote for Rogers.

Plans had initially called for Stevens to join El-Sayed at a Detroit church gathering intended to show party unity, but the arrangement fell through. ABC News cited a source saying El-Sayed's team withdrew her invitation, while Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, has said she personally advised Stevens to skip it. Fox News Digital reported that Dingell said Stevens told her around midnight Saturday that reports of a Rogers endorsement were a "rumor" and "not true." Hours later, Stevens attended services with Rogers at another Detroit church and posted a video endorsing him on X.

Stevens told ABC News she acted mainly to stop her party from heading in a direction she considers dangerous, saying "someone in the Democratic Party has got to say that this crap has got to stop."

The Bureau of Useless Measurement takes no position on the race and reminds readers that its eggs and Pokédexes are not campaign contributions and should not be reported as such.