Haley Stevens, who lost Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers days before the midterm vote, intensifying a feud between the former rivals and drawing sharp condemnation from Democrats.

The rupture reflects widening Democratic divisions over Israel: El-Sayed has criticized U.S. military aid to Israel and argued that the money should go toward domestic priorities, while a May New York Times/Siena poll found 74% of Democratic voters opposed further military and economic support.

The dispute has also drawn scrutiny to Stevens’s fiancé, Jason Turkish, a pro-Israel lawyer who backed Rogers; AIPAC spent $9 million supporting Rogers after Stevens’s primary defeat.

Stevens had been expected to appear with El-Sayed and Rep. James Clyburn at a church event intended to promote unity, but withdrew after making her participation conditional on El-Sayed rejecting an ad and apologizing.

Despite condemnation of the ad from some Democrats and Jewish leaders, Jewish Democratic congressional nominees Brad Lander and Daniel Bliss urged voters to back El-Sayed, casting the race as a choice over accountability, affordability and democracy.

El-Sayed dismissed Stevens’s endorsement as a distraction and said he was focused on health care, public education, infrastructure and the cost of living.

The split threatens Democratic unity in a Senate race Republicans see as a strong opportunity to gain a seat, though a New York Times–Siena University poll released Sunday showed El-Sayed leading Rogers by 11 percentage points.

The contest may hinge on Wayne and Oakland counties, where Stevens won the primary and where Black and Jewish voters are important to the Democratic coalition; Democrats have also stressed the need for strong turnout in Detroit.

Voter reactions were mixed: Dearborn saw a record-paced final day of early in-person voting, while some residents criticized Stevens’s endorsement and at least one voter said he had switched from supporting Trump and Republicans to voting for El-Sayed.

Peters reiterated his support for El-Sayed, Tlaib urged voters to turn out for him, and Slotkin criticized the timing of Stevens’s move as a distraction from Democrats’ effort to regain congressional control.