Haley Stevens on Mike Rogers: ‘Maybe he can be a McCain-type person or a Lisa Murkowski’

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) suggested former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), whom she recently endorsed for the Senate seat in Michigan over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, could be similar to two Republican senators known to buck their party.

In an interview released Monday by The Free Press , Stevens said she backed the GOP candidate because “I think he loves the country.”

“Maybe he can be a McCain-type person or a Lisa Murkowski,” Stevens continued in the interview, referencing Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and the late Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), two Republicans known for their independent streaks.

On Sunday, Stevens endorsed Rogers to serve in the Senate over El-Sayed, who was victorious against Stevens in a tense Democratic primary battle last summer.

Stevens’s announcement followed days of feuding between herself and El-Sayed and came only two days before Election Day.

Anger due to Israel and its war in Gaza was central to the primary fight between El-Sayed and Stevens, their recent feud and Stevens’s decision to endorse Rogers.

The House Democrat had pushed for El-Sayed to publicly condemn an anti-Israel campaign ad from an outside group. But El-Sayed refused and made it clear last weekend Stevens was not welcome at a campaign event Sunday that she had been invited to.

El-Sayed has expressed his desire for the U.S. to cut off financial aid to Israel and instead spend that money domestically. During his primary against Stevens, she received millions from pro-Israel lobbying groups.

The tension between El-Sayed and Stevens represents a broader split among Democrats over the issue of support for Israel, with many disapproving of the country’s actions in its war in Gaza, which some have labeled as a genocide.