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Defeated Democrat Haley Stevens backs Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan as judge throws out Trump's Alaska suit

Two days before the US midterms, the woman who lost Michigan's Democratic Senate primary crossed party lines, and a federal judge dismissed the administration's bid to stop Alaska certifying a Senate defeat for Dan Sullivan.

From the editorial desk · WashingtonPublished
Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens and Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers (file photos)
Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens and Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers (file photos)Photos: U.S. House of Representatives / Wikimedia Commons; Official Publications from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. US Congress / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Key points

  1. Haley Stevens, beaten by Abdul El-Sayed in August, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan's Senate seat.
  2. A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit over Alaska's Senate count and the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot.
  3. More than 52 million Americans have already voted ahead of Tuesday's elections.

Two days before Americans vote in the midterm elections, Haley Stevens crossed party lines on Sunday and endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the US Senate in Michigan, over the Democrat who beat her in the August primary, Abdul El-Sayed.

The endorsement capped a day of open Democratic tension in one of the most closely watched Senate races. Earlier on Sunday, videos and pictures on social media showed Stevens, a Democratic congresswoman, at a church service in Detroit with Rogers. El-Sayed had said he did not want “distractions” from his defeated rival before a planned unity event, and Rogers had said he would welcome Stevens on the campaign trail.

It was not clear on Sunday evening what would become of a scheduled rally for El-Sayed in Michigan.

Alaska suit thrown out

Also on Sunday, a federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit that had sought to stop Alaska from certifying a loss by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. The administration argued that votes cast for a rival candidate who shares his name could change the outcome, and that the Democratic Party was behind a plan to confuse voters by backing a second Dan Sullivan.

Republicans have not let the matter go. James Comer of Kentucky, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said on Sunday that his party would investigate the Democratic role in what he called a “spoiler” candidate, and might try to block Mary Peltola’s seating if the Democratic nominee wins. “No one in America should stand for this, we cannot allow this to happen,” he said.

Asked whether he would accept the Alaska result, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said it was a “federal offence to confuse voters”, pointing to 30 subpoenas sent out by the Justice Department.

The final weekend

President Donald Trump was due to rally in Dubuque, Iowa, and Salina, Kansas, on Sunday, and urged supporters on Truth Social to “SWAMP the Radical Left” with turnout. He has said he will respect the results if they are “honest”. In Texas, Republican Ken Paxton cancelled a rally at the Alamo after objections to using the landmark for politics.

More than 52 million ballots have already been cast, nearly a quarter of about 210 million registered voters. The vote on Tuesday decides control of Congress for the last two years of Trump’s term, and comes as he weighs further strikes on Iran, which he has suggested could follow the elections.