Vice President JD Vance said Rep. Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers will “certainly” help Rogers in his race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews after a weekend of rallies in New York and Ohio.
“I certainly think it helps,” Vance said, responding to a question from Fox News Digital about the impact of the endorsement. “I mean, the message is whether you’re a reasonable Democrat, a Republican, a conservative, an independent or just a liberal who loves the United States of America. El-Sayed is a crazy person and Mike Rogers is a patriot.”
Vance added that Stevens’ move could give some voters “permission” to cross party lines. “I do think it drives home the message, maybe gives certain voters who, you know, wouldn’t normally vote for a Republican permission, knowing that the Democratic Congresswoman of Michigan is going to support Mike Rogers,” he said. He called Rogers a “good guy” and said he believes Michiganders are coming to see El-Sayed as a “crazy guy” who would not serve the state well.
Stevens’ Switch
Stevens, D-Mich., announced her endorsement of Rogers on Sunday with a pointed jab at her party’s own nominee. “Hey Michigan, as you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away,” she said. “And he’s right, and that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign.”
On Monday, both El-Sayed and Rogers published opinion pieces with Fox News Digital laying out their closing arguments to voters. “I’m running for Senate because no Michigander deserves to be left behind,” El-Sayed wrote. “That’s why we’ve held over 700 events in over 120 cities. I’ve sat down with Michiganders from all walks of life, all of whom are hurting from the Rogers-Trump agenda and are hungry for change.”
Rogers, for his part, took aim at El-Sayed’s association with far-left streamer Hasan Piker. “As a former Army officer and FBI street agent, I would never have imagined that I would be running against someone who associates with terrorist sympathizers,” Rogers wrote. “El-Sayed has invited someone to our state who openly proclaims, ‘America deserved 9/11.’ He took donations from individuals linked to terrorist organizations.”
The Piker Connection
Stevens has also criticized El-Sayed’s ties to Piker, previously saying his extremist views “should be condemned.” During a livestream in May, Piker pointed investigators toward Neville Roy Singham as a likely target of Treasury Department subpoenas, saying Singham’s “operation” in the U.S. includes the Marxist ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
“I think that ultimately the target is probably Singham and his operation from PSL to ANSWER Coalition to CodePink — like anything that he has ever financed,” Piker said. “Not sure how much money he has now, but he’s been a funding vehicle for a lot of political movements in the country, like a lot of activism, and they hate that s—, so they’re trying to jam them up.”
A Fox News Digital investigation found Singham has funneled $285 million into six organizations, including $22.44 million to the People’s Forum, a hub for communist organizing in New York City; $1.33 million to CodePink; $68.7 million to Justice and Education Fund Inc., which routes money to anonymous overseas projects; $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media; and $16.76 million to Tricontinental Ltd., a pro-communist think tank. The Party for Socialism and Liberation and ANSWER Coalition share office space with, and some leadership of, the People’s Forum.
Final Push Before Election Day
Both El-Sayed and Rogers held rallies in Michigan on Monday afternoon as a last appeal to voters. Vance, meanwhile, campaigned in Ohio and New York for Jon Husted, Vivek Ramaswamy, Andrew Constantino and other Republican candidates, joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Donald Trump Jr. Crowds of a few hundred supporters turned out at airport hangars in both states as Vance urged Republicans to turn out for Tuesday’s midterm elections.
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