Haley Stevens' Fiancé Votes for Rogers Over El-Sayed

Jason Turkish, a Michigan lawyer and the fiancé of Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., announced on Wednesday night that he will cast his ballot for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers. Turkish made the declaration at a campaign event sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition held at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan. He described his decision as putting country before party, noting that he is a registered Democrat who has also donated to some Republican candidates.

Turkish told reporters that he had waited for Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan Senate, to moderate his stance, but argued that the candidate instead escalated his rhetoric. He stated that El-Sayed had grown worse as the general election campaign progressed, driving people further apart rather than bringing them together. Turkish, who is Jewish, said he could not vote for a candidate he believes is an antisemite.

The core of Turkish's criticism centers on El-Sayed's repeated use of the word genocide to describe the war in Gaza. Turkish argued that this language makes his community less safe and that El-Sayed's refusal to condemn an advertisement suggesting Jews are responsible for the price of bananas reinforces that danger. He claimed that every time El-Sayed uses that specific term, Jews receive death threats. He characterized El-Sayed's behavior as reckless toward the safety of local Jewish communities.

Turkish also took issue with El-Sayed's relationship with California streamer Hasan Piker. He pointed to El-Sayed's refusal to distance himself from Piker, who had previously stated that America deserved the events of September 11. Turkish observed that El-Sayed has become verbally combative with reporters in recent weeks when they ask about Piker. He accused the candidate of using equivocation to explain away hate, stating that there is no explaining away hate and predicting that Michigan will reject the candidate.

Despite the public split, Stevens has not withdrawn her support for El-Sayed. She told CNN that her household is divided, like many across the country, but that she still very much wants El-Sayed to win the race. She emphasized that there is so much on the line. Stevens endorsed El-Sayed after he defeated her in a closely fought primary earlier this summer. Since a unity breakfast shortly after that loss, she has not campaigned or appeared publicly with him.

Turkish is the second major figure from Stevens' orbit to back Rogers in recent days. Attorney David Kramer, who served as Stevens' former campaign chair, said on Tuesday that he also plans to vote for Rogers. Rogers addressed the audience at his Wednesday night event, stating that El-Sayed is not someone they can let into the United States Senate. He argued that if a candidate does not know Iran is an enemy and cannot condemn a Hezbollah-inspired attack, they have no business serving in the Senate. Rogers did not mention Turkish's vote during his stump remarks.

El-Sayed is a longtime critic of Israel and has called the conflict in Gaza a genocide. Israel maintains that it is fighting terrorists who use Gaza civilians as human shields and that it takes steps to avoid civilian casualties, such as notifying people to evacuate buildings before conducting strikes. Turkish’s remarks add a new layer of internal friction to the Michigan Senate race, with a senior Democrat’s partner publicly aligning with the GOP nominee just weeks before the general election.