US Senate candidate for Michigan El-Sayed brushes aside onetime Democratic rival's endorsement of his Republican opponent

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday brushed aside Rep. Haley Stevens after his former primary rival broke ranks to endorse Republican contender Mike Rogers in Michigan's crucial race.

"At the end of the day, I actually don't think about Haley Stevens," El-Sayed told reporters, dismissing the political fallout from her surprise endorsement.

"This is a state of 10 million people who deserve a lot better from their government," he added.

"I'm a lot more focused on the 9,999,998 that are not the ones you guys are talking about."

The crossover move escalated fractures ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections to determine the successor to retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary nomination to El-Sayed in August, backed Rogers following a public clash over an outside political action committee ad on US aid to Israel.

Her endorsement triggered the immediate resignation of some of her staff and drew swift condemnation from party leaders, including US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who denounced the endorsement as a betrayal while reaffirming total support behind El-Sayed.

Such a cross-party endorsement is highly unusual, especially for a sitting lawmaker at the national level.

The race has drawn considerable national attention, as El-Sayed would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate if he wins, and Rogers has publicly criticized El-Sayed’s faith, a move El-Sayed’s supporters call Islamophobic.

Muhammed Yasin Güngör