Jason Turkish, the fiancé of U.S. Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan, has stated that he intends to vote for Republican candidate Mike Rogers in the state’s U.S. Senate election on November 3.
Turkish, a Jewish Democrat and disabilities and civil rights attorney from Huntington Woods, is engaged to Stevens, who lost the August 4 Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed by a narrow margin of roughly 48.5 percent to 47.5 percent. Turkish told The Detroit News that he has become convinced over the past three months that El-Sayed is an antisemite, citing what he described as an escalation in the Democratic nominee’s rhetoric since the 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,” he said. “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.”
He further indicated that he had hoped El-Sayed would move past primary divisions over Israel and unite the party, but concluded that had not occurred. Turkish pointed specifically to El-Sayed’s characterization of Israel as not a U.S. ally and to El-Sayed’s refusal during an October debate to state whether Iran or Israel poses a greater threat to the United States.
He also criticized El-Sayed’s response to a recent advertisement from an outside group that Turkish and others said scapegoated Israel and Jews for cost-of-living issues. El-Sayed distanced himself from the ad but did not explicitly disavow its message or call for its removal.
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SCOOP: Haley Stevens’ fiancé says he’s voting for Mike Rogers for Senate over Abdul El-Sayed https://t.co/Rz4GkOva9g
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In addition, Turkish pointed to ongoing fundraising appeals that reference the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and El-Sayed’s past associations with streamer Hasan Piker.
Turkish described his choice as “putting country before party.” He stated that while he disagrees with Rogers on a range of policy issues, “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.”
He further told The Detroit News that he attended Republican Jewish Coalition forum for Rogers in Birmingham on October 28. Turkish has previously donated to candidates of both parties and gave more than $200,000 to Democratic Party candidates and committees this cycle.
Turkish is the second figure closely associated with Stevens to publicly indicate support for Rogers this week. David Kramer, who chaired Stevens’s Senate campaign and previously served as finance chair for Senator Elissa Slotkin, told Jewish Insider that he also plans to vote for Rogers, describing the decision as a vote against El-Sayed while remaining a Democrat on other races.
In the Democratic Party primary, El-Sayed narrowly defeated Stevens, who had received support from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other prominent Democrats including former Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI).
Immediately after the primary, Stevens endorsed El-Sayed, stating she was “proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers.” She has not appeared with him on the campaign trail since a unity event shortly afterward, however.
