Democrats condemn Haley Stevens' 'betrayal' following Republican endorsementHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Democratic politicians have condemned congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, over her endorsement of his Republican rival just days before the midterm vote.Stevensâ extraordinary endorsement of Mike Rogers was the culmination of an escalating feud between the former primary rivals â primarily over support for Israel â that has roiled one of the most fiercely contested Senate contests of the cycle.As one might expect, top Democrats have been quick to express their outrage at the congresswomanâs âbetrayalâ.California governor Gavin Newsom said on the political talkshow 2WAY that Stevens âwent another 180 degrees overnight, so something was going on thereâ. âSheâs been successful at taking our eye off the ball and thatâs why I understand party leadership condemning it ... This may be curiously the October surprise of sorts,â he added.Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer also responded negatively to the endorsement.
Schumerâs campaign account called it a âdespicable betrayalâ from Stevens in a statement, but continued to push for unity among Democrats. He said: double quotation markSenate 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.
We Democrats equally united in our total revulsion at the racist, Islamophobic, and over-the-top false attacks on Abdul by Republicans. These attacks are evidence of the total bankruptcy of the Republican Party today, who resort to ugly and un-American fearmongering because they have nothing to offer on the problems that concern people today.
Meanwhile, Michiganâs Democratic party chair Curtis Hertel said: double quotation markHaley Stevensâ decision to campaign with Rogers â a man who has repeatedly sold out Michiganâs working class, wants to pass a national abortion ban, and has pledged to be a loyal vote for Trumpâs agenda â shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about. We reject the attempts by Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide our party and undermine our momentum, and will not allow these eleventh-hour distractions deter us.
Bernie Sanders joined the controversy, attacking Stevens for what Democrats view as an extraordinary betrayal after Stevens accepted El-Sayedâs narrow victory over her in Michiganâs Democrat senate primaries.âRep. Haley Stevensâ staff is right to resign in disgust,â Sanders posted on X. âThey understand that the election in Michigan is far more important than Haleyâs fragile ego and that all of us must stand together to elect Abdul, defeat Rogers and end the Republican rubber-stamp control of the Senate.âZohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said Stevens had âbetrayedâ working class people âby endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run againstâ.Read our full report here:In other developments: Donald Trump railed against Democratic US senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign event in Iowa Sunday, repeatedly referring to the Michigan progressive as a âjihadistâ.
The president bashed El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim, in brazenly racist terms, saying that Congress would have to âget a special metal detector for Abdulâ if he were elected. âIf you vote for this jihadist lunatic that wants to destroy you, youâre crazy,â Trump said. A judge has dismissed the Donald Trump-backed lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaskaâs US Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses.
Trump said on 23 October that he had ordered the justice department to file the lawsuit in a move that voting rights experts called an âunprecedented interventionâ by the federal government with control of Congress in the balance. Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
Murphy, 53, started feeling numbness in his arm while attending his sonâs hockey game on Saturday, according to the Connecticut senatorâs chief of staff, Allison Herwitt. A hospital visit confirmed that Murphy had experienced a stroke.
Key events15m agoDemocrats condemn Haley Stevens' 'betrayal' following Republican endorsementSome of the people who worked for Stevensâs campaign also reportedly quit following her Rogers endorsement.Her long-time chief of staff, Justin German, and her communications director, Logan Basch, were among those who left, according to CNN correspondent Manu Raju.German later released a statement on behalf of Stevensâ campaign team endorsing El-Sayed: double quotation markAs Haley Stevensâ Chief of staff for eight years, I speak on behalf of our team in wholeheartedly supporting Abdul El-Sayed for Senate. This election is too important to sow division or stand on the sidelines.
We are shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevensâ decision to support Mike Rogers. Democrats condemn Haley Stevens' 'betrayal' following Republican endorsementHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Democratic politicians have condemned congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, over her endorsement of his Republican rival just days before the midterm vote.Stevensâ extraordinary endorsement of Mike Rogers was the culmination of an escalating feud between the former primary rivals â primarily over support for Israel â that has roiled one of the most fiercely contested Senate contests of the cycle.As one might expect, top Democrats have been quick to express their outrage at the congresswomanâs âbetrayalâ.California governor Gavin Newsom said on the political talkshow 2WAY that Stevens âwent another 180 degrees overnight, so something was going on thereâ. âSheâs been successful at taking our eye off the ball and thatâs why I understand party leadership condemning it ...
This may be curiously the October surprise of sorts,â he added.Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer also responded negatively to the endorsement. Schumerâs campaign account called it a âdespicable betrayalâ from Stevens in a statement, but continued to push for unity among Democrats.
He said: double quotation markSenate 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. We Democrats equally united in our total revulsion at the racist, Islamophobic, and over-the-top false attacks on Abdul by Republicans.
These attacks are evidence of the total bankruptcy of the Republican Party today, who resort to ugly and un-American fearmongering because they have nothing to offer on the problems that concern people today. Meanwhile, Michiganâs Democratic party chair Curtis Hertel said: double quotation markHaley Stevensâ decision to campaign with Rogers â a man who has repeatedly sold out Michiganâs working class, wants to pass a national abortion ban, and has pledged to be a loyal vote for Trumpâs agenda â shows that she has abandoned everything she claims to care about.
We reject the attempts by Stevens and bad-faith actors to divide our party and undermine our momentum, and will not allow these eleventh-hour distractions deter us. Bernie Sanders joined the controversy, attacking Stevens for what Democrats view as an extraordinary betrayal after Stevens accepted El-Sayedâs narrow victory over her in Michiganâs Democrat senate primaries.âRep.
Haley Stevensâ staff is right to resign in disgust,â Sanders posted on X. âThey understand that the election in Michigan is far more important than Haleyâs fragile ego and that all of us must stand together to elect Abdul, defeat Rogers and end the Republican rubber-stamp control of the Senate.âZohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said Stevens had âbetrayedâ working class people âby endorsing the very Republican she said she wanted to run againstâ.Read our full report here:In other developments: Donald Trump railed against Democratic US senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed at a campaign event in Iowa Sunday, repeatedly referring to the Michigan progressive as a âjihadistâ. The president bashed El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim, in brazenly racist terms, saying that Congress would have to âget a special metal detector for Abdulâ if he were elected. âIf you vote for this jihadist lunatic that wants to destroy you, youâre crazy,â Trump said.
A judge has dismissed the Donald Trump-backed lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaskaâs US Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. Trump said on 23 October that he had ordered the justice department to file the lawsuit in a move that voting rights experts called an âunprecedented interventionâ by the federal government with control of Congress in the balance.
Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke. Murphy, 53, started feeling numbness in his arm while attending his sonâs hockey game on Saturday, according to the Connecticut senatorâs chief of staff, Allison Herwitt.
A hospital visit confirmed that Murphy had experienced a stroke.

