WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Haley Stevens appeared beside Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers during a service at Detroit’s Perfecting Church.
  • Stevens was previously disinvited from a planned church event with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
  • Stevens demanded that El-Sayed condemn an outside group’s advertisement linking support for Israel to higher grocery prices.
  • El-Sayed’s campaign asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining events as Democratic divisions intensified.

Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, appeared inside Detroit’s Perfecting Church on Sunday, standing next to Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers during a service. Fox News confirmed the unusual scene in a Senate contest already roiled by Democratic infighting.

The appearance on Nov. 1, 2026, followed Stevens being disinvited from a planned church event with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. El-Sayed narrowly defeated Stevens in Michigan’s Aug. 4, 2026, Democratic Senate primary.

That reversal produced an awkward political tableau. Instead of appearing at the planned event with the Democratic nominee, Stevens found herself at the same church as Rogers, the Republican now running against El-Sayed.

The dispute between Stevens and El-Sayed centers on an advertisement produced by an outside group. The ad linked United States support for Israel to higher grocery prices, a message Stevens called antisemitic.

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Stevens pressed El-Sayed to condemn the advertisement. Her demand placed their disagreement over the outside group’s message squarely in view as Democrats sought to navigate a close Senate race.

El-Sayed responded that the advertisement was not produced by his campaign. He also said he disagreed with its contents, distancing his campaign from both the ad and its message.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, another Michigan Democrat, helped organize the planned church appearance involving Stevens and El-Sayed. Dingell said Stevens was asked to skip the event after the dispute became a distraction and upset the church’s bishop.

The request was not limited to the church gathering. El-Sayed’s campaign also asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining events, signaling that the friction between the former primary rivals had not quietly disappeared.

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The episode became even more striking because Stevens then appeared alongside Rogers during the Perfecting Church service. Rogers is El-Sayed’s Republican opponent in the Senate race, making the seating arrangement a vivid snapshot of the Democrats’ internal split.

Another personal connection has also drawn attention in the race. Stevens’ fiancé, Jason Turkish, previously endorsed Rogers and appeared at a Rogers campaign event.

Turkish said he could not support El-Sayed because of the Democratic nominee’s positions on Israel. His endorsement placed someone close to Stevens publicly behind the Republican candidate after the bitter Democratic primary.

Stevens has continued focusing her criticism on the advertisement linking support for Israel with grocery costs. El-Sayed, meanwhile, has maintained that his campaign did not create the ad and that he disagreed with what it said.

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The disagreement has left Democrats dealing with visible divisions after El-Sayed’s narrow primary victory over Stevens. Those tensions moved from campaign statements and event planning into public view inside a Detroit church.

Rogers’ presence added another layer to the Sunday appearance because he is competing directly against El-Sayed. Stevens’ proximity to the Republican candidate came after she had been removed from the planned event involving her own party’s nominee.

The dispute has placed a spotlight on Democratic divisions in a close Senate race. The contest could help determine control of the Senate, raising the stakes around a feud that has already affected campaign events and relationships among prominent Michigan Democrats.

For El-Sayed, the controversy includes criticism over his position on Israel as well as the outside group’s advertisement. Some Jewish leaders, however, believe members of their community should put aside their disagreements with him and vote for the Democratic nominee.

Stevens’ Sunday appearance offered no shortage of political symbolism, even without a formal campaign event between her and Rogers. A former Democratic primary candidate stood beside the Republican nominee while her party’s nominee had asked her to avoid his remaining events.

The church scene therefore captured the state of the race with unusual clarity. El-Sayed faces Rogers in the general election while the Democratic tensions surrounding Stevens, the advertisement, and Israel remain publicly visible.

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