Former Democratic Rep. Hansen Clarke, who represented Detroit in Congress, has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan's US Senate seat, 77 WABC reported Monday. He becomes the second prominent Michigan Democrat in two days to back Rogers over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
"Choi Clarke and I stand with Congresswoman Haley Stevens in supporting Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate," Clarke said in a statement shared on social media, referring to his wife. "I served with Mike in the U.S. House of Representatives. I know that he is committed to improving the quality of our lives, protecting our nation's security, and working with Democrats to get the job done."
Clarke served one term in the House, from 2011 to 2013, overlapping with Rogers, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee.
The endorsement follows Rep. Haley Stevens's announcement on Sunday that she was backing Rogers. Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed in August, said El-Sayed had made clear she was not welcome in his campaign. She appeared alongside Rogers at a church service in Detroit before endorsing him. Her longtime chief of staff and several other staffers resigned after the announcement.
Senior Democrats condemned Stevens's move, and El-Sayed's campaign said it raised a single-day record of $2.4 million from 65,000 donors in its wake.
El-Sayed has faced months of criticism from fellow Democrats over his positions on Israel, his response to the March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, and his campaign appearances with streamer Hasan Piker. In a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday, he said Palestine has a right to exist but attached conditions to Israel's.
Rogers and El-Sayed face off in Tuesday's election, in a race that could help decide control of the Senate.
