Former Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI) has endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers, becoming the latest Michigan Democrat to cross party lines as Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed faces a public split within his own party ahead of Tuesday’s election, Slay News reports.
Clarke’s endorsement follows Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) decision Sunday to back Rogers, giving the Republican support from both a sitting Democratic congresswoman and a former Democratic congressman in a race that could help decide control of the Senate.
Rogers announced Clarke’s support on Facebook, highlighting their time serving together in the House. “I’m honored to have Congressman Clarke’s endorsement,” Rogers wrote. “We served together in the House, and although we didn’t agree on everything, we always agreed to put Michigan first.” He closed with, “We have a state to save, Michigan.”
Clarke represented Michigan’s Detroit-based 13th Congressional District from 2011 to 2013, and previously served in the Michigan House and state Senate. Rogers framed the endorsement around a shared commitment to Michigan despite political differences rather than any specific policy pledges.
Stevens, who lost the Democratic Senate primary to El-Sayed, appeared alongside Rogers at Detroit’s Perfecting Church on Sunday, two days before Election Day. Her break with the nominee followed a public dispute over an outside group’s ad that she characterized as antisemitic.
Rogers is seeking to flip the seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), making Michigan a key battleground in the fight for the Senate. El-Sayed now heads into Election Day with two current or former Democratic members of Congress publicly backing his Republican opponent.
