Jewish voters in Detroit who have traditionally backed Democrats told the Daily Mail they plan to support Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.
Shlomi Bennett said Tuesday morning that he intended to vote for Republican Mike Rogers, citing what he described as “serious concerns” over Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s handling of antisemitism.
“I’m particularly troubled by what I see as his failure to clearly condemn ads that Jewish voters have called antisemitic, and his associations with controversial figures such as Hasan Piker and Tucker Carlson,” Bennett said.
Bennett supported Haley Stevens over El-Sayed in the Democratic primary. He said Stevens’ surprise endorsement of Rogers on Sunday reflected “a serious divide” within American politics.
The latest New York Times/Siena University poll puts El-Sayed 11 points ahead of Rogers, with 53 percent of voters supporting the Democrat compared with 42 percent for the Republican.
Stevens had repeatedly criticized El-Sayed over his remarks about Israel and his links to controversial streamer Hasan Piker. She called on him to apologize for comments she said unfairly placed blame on Jewish Americans for the country’s problems.
Stevens also pressed El-Sayed to explicitly distance himself from Piker’s rhetoric, which she described as deeply disturbing.
After facing backlash, El-Sayed released a statement reaffirming his commitment to protecting Jewish Americans. He said his dedication to their safety was equal to his concern for the safety of his own daughters.
Jewish voters in Detroit told the Daily Mail they are moving away from the Democratic Party and backing Mike Rogers in this year’s midterm election.
Haley Stevens has repeatedly criticized El-Sayed over his comments on Israel and his association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker before endorsing Mike Rogers on Sunday.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed visits a polling station during the US midterm elections in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 3, 2026.
El-Sayed described antisemitism as a “scourge” and said he opposed any rhetoric that placed the Jewish community at risk.
He did not, however, mention Piker by name or directly condemn his remarks. Instead, El-Sayed said that no one spoke for his campaign apart from him and his official spokespeople.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin likewise described Stevens’ decision to cross party lines as “courageous.”
“Whether or not you agree with Rep. Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Mike Rogers, everyone should respect the courage it took for her to defy her party and make what she considers a principled stand,” he said.
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“Such courage — at great cost to her political career — is all too rare in today’s political world. In general, I hope we learn to respect one another’s decisions without demonizing positions with which we disagree.”
Still, religion is not shaping the choice of every voter on the other side of the political divide.
Some voters told the Daily Mail that El-Sayed’s appearance, rather than the religious controversy surrounding the race, was helping win their support.
Tracy Grasy, 60, said she had previously voted for El-Sayed’s opponent, Mike Rogers.
“I mean, he’s not a bad-looking man. He really isn’t! He just isn’t!” Grasy said of El-Sayed.
‘He’s easy on the eyes, and he’s educated. That’s even better!’
First-time voter Meilyn Rodriguez, 18, said she was also voting for El-Sayed because he ‘just seems right for the people.’
The teenager said she and her friends had seen TikTok videos about El-Sayed’s looks, and said she had seen people say they were ‘voting for him because he’s hot.’
‘Like mostly just because he’s hot,’ she said.
‘But, I’m not really doing that. Like I would just rather not vote for the other guy.’
El-Sayed’s support skews younger, and he used TikTok to his advantage with clever skits and trending sounds, becoming popular nationally.
Polling shows he draws considerably more backing from younger voters than older generations.
An August EPIC-MRA survey found he commanded 62 percent support among voters aged 18 to 34 compared to Rogers, with just 36 percent among those aged 50 to 64.
Among voters over 65, Rogers held a narrow lead.