Detroit attorney Jason Turkish, fiancé of former Senate candidate Haley Stevens, backs Republican Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed
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Jason Turkish, a Democratic donor and civil-rights lawyer engaged to former Michigan Senate candidate Haley Stevens, announced he will vote for Republican Mike Rogers, citing concerns about Abdul El-Sayed’s remarks on Israel.
Days before the November 3 election, Jason Turkish, a Democratic donor and civil-rights attorney from Huntington Woods, said he will cast his ballot for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan. Turkish, who is engaged to former Senate hopeful Haley Stevens, told The Detroit News that he now views Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as an antisemite and that his rhetoric has made Jews feel unsafe.
“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,” Turkish said.
Turkish added that he is voting for Rogers as “putting country before party,” despite having donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates in recent cycles. He criticized El-Sayed for not explicitly denouncing a recent ad that he said scapegoated Jews and for refusing to answer questions about Israel’s status as a U.S. ally.
Stevens, speaking on CNN, reiterated her support for El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee, while acknowledging divisions within households across the country. She urged the candidate to denounce two “hateful” ads that have appeared recently.
“I know that he has it in him to denounce these two ads to take them down,” Stevens told the network.
El-Sayed’s spokeswoman, Roxie Richner, responded that the campaign is building a broad coalition and that the Democratic “tent is big enough for all those who wish to join it.” El-Sayed later told CBS News that differing opinions are part of democracy and emphasized the election’s stakes for Senate control and checks on President Donald Trump’s policies.
Turkish attended a Rogers event on Oct. 28 at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, where Rogers participated in a forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition titled “Who Will Keep Us Safe? Rogers vs. El-Sayed in the Wake of October 7th and the Temple Israel Attack.” Turkish noted that, although he disagrees with many of Rogers’ policies, he believes the candidate is a patriot who cares about Jewish safety.
The former campaign chair for Stevens, attorney David Kramer, also announced his intention to vote for Rogers, marking a growing number of prominent figures in Stevens’ circle crossing party lines ahead of the Senate race.