Posted on 10/28/2026 8:16:14 PM PDT by Freeleesy
DETROIT — Days before the Nov. 3 election, the Democratic fiancé of former Senate hopeful Haley Stevens declared he intends to vote for Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate, saying he's become convinced over the last three months that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is an antisemite.
Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and disabilities and civil rights attorney from Huntington Woods, is engaged to be married to U.S. Rep. Stevens of Birmingham, whom El-Sayed narrowly defeated in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary.
"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 told The Detroit News about El-Sayed, a long-time critic of the Israeli government.
"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, a Democratic donor from Huntington Woods who has also given to GOP candidates, described his decision to back Rogers as "putting country before party."
El-Sayed spokeswoman Roxie Richner said in a statement: "Abdul is focused on building a broad coalition to win Michigan and win back the Senate majority for Democrats. Our tent is big enough for all those who wish to join it."
Turkish intends to attend a Rogers event on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Birmingham. There, Rogers is set to take part in a forum sponsored 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 is the second major figure in Stevens' orbit to throw his support behind Rogers in recent days. Her former campaign chair, attorney David Kramer, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday, Oct. 27 that he also intends to vote for Rogers.
Stevens endorsed El-Sayed after his victory, but hasn't campaigned or appeared with him publicly since a Democratic unity breakfast shortly after the primary. She went on CNN on Sunday and praised Rogers for "rigorously" seeking the support of Black voters in Detroit.
Asked if she's still fully behind El-Sayed, Stevens gave CNN's Dana Bash a tepid response, saying, "Look, I'm on the Democratic ticket, you know. I can't say that I agree with everything that's gone on."
Turkish has gotten more involved in politics in the last five or six years. He has worked mostly with Michigan Democrats, but he has also donated to Republicans, including embattled GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, donating over $24,000 to her allied committees last year, according to federal records.
Turkish said that three months ago, he hoped El-Sayed would move past the divisions over Israel from the primary, move to the middle, and unite the party behind him. But that's not what happened, Turkish said.
"In the end, this ended up not being a close call at all," Turkish told The News.
In explaining his decision to vote for Rogers, Turkish pointed in part to El-Sayed's remark that Israel isn't a U.S. ally and his refusal in a debate to answer whether Iran or Israel poses a bigger threat to the United States.
Turkish was also disappointed in El-Sayed's response this week to a viral ad on social media that takes place inside a grocery store and which Turkish and other critics say scapegoats Israel and Jews for cost-of-living problems.
El-Sayed has distanced himself from the commercial, which is by the outside group Rebellion PAC. But Turkish criticized the Democratic candidate for not explicitly disavowing its message or asking for it to be taken down after having days to do so.
"It’s blaming Jews for problems that are in no way traceable to them: That’s an ages-old antisemitic trope," Turkish said.
In fundraising appeals that Turkish receives, El-Sayed has continued to criticize the pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the reason why he's low on funding. The group spent over $30 million against El-Sayed in the primary.
El-Sayed has also been defensive when reporters ask about his association with the left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who has faced accusations of antisemitism, Turkish noted. El-Sayed has not cut ties with Piker but also hasn't appeared or campaigned with him since the August primary.
"I'm going to vote for Mike Rogers. That's the highest measure of the support I can give somebody is my vote, and that's what I intend to do. But this is not a decision I ever thought I would have to make," Turkish said, noting he didn't vote for Rogers when he ran for Senate in 2024.
"The fact that I may disagree with Mike Rogers on a whole host of policy issues, but I have absolutely no reason to believe that he isn't a patriot, that he doesn't love this country, and that he doesn't care about keeping the Jewish people safe. And, you know, at the end of the day, that's just got to be the math that matters more, at least this time."
Turkish acknowledged that, if Rogers wins, President Donald Trump could find it easier to push through judicial nominees.
"It's not easy. I'm a lawyer. I'm a civil rights attorney. I care a great deal about our courts. I care about the federal judiciary," Turkish said. "This is not an easy decision for me as an individual voter, but I've seen what's happened, and it's just gotten so much worse."
Turkish said he graduated from the University of Michigan with El-Sayed, and was in the audience when El-Sayed gave their class' commencement address. It was highly praised by former President Bill Clinton, who followed El-Sayed's remarks on stage.
"Clinton saw the obvious political talent in Abdul El-Sayed. I see it too. It's obvious he is a talented politician, an eloquent speaker," Turkish said.
"Abdul knows how to bring people together. He's just chosen not to."
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KC But do you agree with your fiancé and his sentiment here on this race?
HS No, like a lot of households across America, we're a household. I still very much want our Democratic .... There's so much on the line. But I will be honest, there are a lot of voters in Michigan. I was out knocking doors earlier today in Macomb County.
And they are still undecided. And they are hurt and they are confused. And this is why I think our nominee is in... a very strong position to denounce the hateful ads that have hurt people. You know, we've got one with Tucker Carlson, who is a racist, anti-black, white supremacist, apologist. And we've got another that's blaming Jews for the cost of groceries. And... People are coming to me about this. And they're black voters. They're Indian American voters. They're obviously Jewish voters, working class voters. And so let's shut out the hate. You know, let's get these undecided voters over the finish line. Let's make sure that Michigan has the representation it needs in the United States Senate.
KC So you seem to be saying that you don't think Abdul El-Sayed has done enough to criticize those ads or appeal enough to those voters. Is that right?
HS No, I'm saying that Abdul, and I fully believe he can do this, can denounce Tucker Carlson and denounce anti-Semitic hate. Things that make particularly minority communities feel less safe and actually make them less safe. When, for instance, you blame Jews for the cost of groceries being too high or health care not being affordable, that's dangerous for Jews. When you're somehow propping up Tucker Carlson, that makes a whole host of people in our black community feel less safe and targeted....
I'm still very much a passionate Democrat. I'm a Michigan Democrat who's, you know, not afraid to say this because this is the party, you know, that, you know, we all want. One that is talking about a brighter future, that is disavowing anti-Semitism, that is telling Americans, that they're safe in our party.
Lol. All we had to do to get more Jewish people voting right is have Tucker be embraced by his fellow antisemites. Who knew?
Who?
Her vote cancels his - so neither of them win.
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