Fiance of Dem Who Lost to El-Sayed in Close Primary Announces He's Voting For His GOP Challenger Because of Anti-Semitism, Libs Flip
I get it. Primaries can be bitter. Even the fiercest of rivals will usually kiss and make up, however, if only for the sake of their respective careers.
What does it say, then, that the fiance of Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens — who lost a nail-biter of a Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed — says he’s voting for Mike Rogers, El-Sayed’s Republican opponent?
In an interview with The Detroit News published Wednesday, Jason Turkish told the paper that he would be voting for Rogers based on El-Sayed’s history of scarcely disguised Jew-hating remarks.
This came on the heels of Stevens’ appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, where she expressed tepid support for El-Sayed while refusing to mention him by name.
El-Sayed beat Stevens, who represents Michigan’s 11th District, by less than a point in the August primary. The win was in part thanks to El-Sayed’s anti-Semitic dog-whistling on Israeli issues, claiming that Stevens was propped up by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
El-Sayed now seeks to replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in a race that’s closer than it normally would be, given the midterm climate.
And while Stevens’ long-term political goals are contingent on her sucking it up and pretending she believes El-Sayed isn’t a wolf in wolf’s clothing, Jason Turkish — her fiance — says that he’s “putting country before party” and voting for Mike Rogers.
#MichiganSenate
Detroit News: Haley Stevens’ fiancé says he’s voting for Mike Rogers over Abdul El-Sayed
https://t.co/ohJdufG2Mb
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) October 28, 2026
“I’ve just seen an escalation in his rhetoric since the primary, and it makes folks unsafe. Every time he talks about genocide [in Gaza], Jews get death threats,” he told The Detroit News.
“We have never seen a candidate for U.S. Senate act so recklessly toward the safety of Jews in the community as we have seen from Abdul.”
Turkish becomes the second person in Stevens‘ orbit to announce his support for Rogers in recent days.
David Kramer, the former finance chair for Stevens’ Senate campaign and a former campaign aide for Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, told Jewish Insider that he was going to vote for Rogers, too.
“As we get closer and closer to the general [election], it’s become clearer to me that Abdul is certainly not moderating at all, and I think really becoming more extreme and more dangerous and less responsive to the Jewish community,” he told the publication.
Stevens, quite predictably, insisted that this wasn’t her opinion but that, you know, significant others are gonna significant other.
“Like a lot of households across America, we’re a house divided,” she told CNN. “I still very much want our Democratic nominee, his name is Abdul, to win this race. There’s so much on the line.”
However, her endorsement wasn’t an unalloyed one, with Stevens criticizing his handling of the Jewish and black voting blocs:
Wow, Haley Stevens just took a two by four to Abdul el-Sayed on CNN. She says he hasn’t done enough to denounce hate and that black and Jewish voters are telling her they are uncomfortable with him. https://t.co/o7wGWwJ0Jp
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 29, 2026
I don’t pretend to know what goes on in relationships — Kellyanne and George Conway were once bound by the ties of matrimony, after all — but I’m pretty certain this is hardly the full story, particularly when you consider her appearance on CNN just this weekend, when she couldn’t even refer to El-Sayed by name.
(It was vaguely reminiscent of how Bill Parcells, when fed up with the notoriously obnoxious legendary egotist Terrell Owens during their tenure with the Dallas Cowboys, would merely refer to him as “the player” during media briefings.)
“Look, I’m on the Democratic ticket. I can’t say that I agree with everything that’s gone on,” she told CNN’s Dana Bash.
“I wish that first debate had been more about that rubber stamp for Trump, because we have got a lot of chaos in Michigan. I don’t want to debate who’s the enemy of the United States. It’s very clear that Iran is.”
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It’s worth noting that according to a transcript of her appearance, she mentioned the names of Mike Rogers — whom she praised for going into black communities — and Hakeem Jeffries, but not Abdul El-Sayed.
Perhaps it’s the dirty tricks he played in the primary. Perhaps it’s the Muslim Brotherhood ties. Perhaps it’s the fact that the guy will underperform in a seat where Stevens would be up by 10 points if she were the nominee, given the favorable winds for the Democrats this midterm cycle. Or perhaps it’s Hasan Piker. Or perhaps…
Oh, but I digress, because the usual suspects had their knives out for Stevens and her fiance for precisely the reason you might imagine:
The Haley Stevens de facto un-endorsement of AES on CNN on Sunday now makes so much more sense. Her fiancée is voting MAGA (and has previously donated to Susan Collins).
It doesn’t matter what happens next Tuesday. The correct candidate lost in the Michigan primary.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 28, 2026
The butthurt handling of this primary defeat by Haley Stevens and now her fiance after they had tens of millions in outside money spent on her behalf is appalling. The next SecDef or a Trump SCOTUS judge is on the line here! Totally pathetic & reveals that the loss was deserved
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 28, 2026
Disgusting and shameful
— Secular Talk (KyleKulinskiShow@bsky.social) (@KyleKulinski) October 28, 2026
Virtually every anti-Israel hand-wringing Obama holdover or open anti-Semite is pretty much trashing Stevens and her fiance for noticing the bleeding obvious: El-Sayed isn’t just a bigot, but a bigot who plans to legislate by taking his bigotries as first principles. No matter what ails us, it all goes back to the Jews somehow.
He can use nicer words to describe that mephitic philosophy, but verbal prestidigitation doesn’t change the fact that he’s a man who seeks to become the first member of the Senate to represent Gaza, while nominally representing Michigan.
Haley Stevens’ fiance can see that; if Michigan voters don’t, heaven help us all.
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