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The Boss Picks A Side As Michigan Democrat Breaks Ranks Before Election Day

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Bruce Springsteen
Photo Credit: "Bruce Springsteen" by kyonokyonokyono is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Bruce Springsteen entered Michigan’s increasingly bitter Senate race Monday with a last-minute endorsement of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, just as party leaders weighed consequences for Rep. Haley Stevens over her decision to back his Republican opponent.

The 77-year-old rocker announced his support for El-Sayed on X, placing himself on the opposite side of a Democratic split that has drawn criticism from party leaders and a defense of Stevens from hosts of ABC’s “The View.”

“Dr. El-Sayed is a fighter for our American Constitution, he’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House. That’s why I’m in his corner 100%,” Springsteen wrote.

Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed, endorsed former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers on Sunday.

She later attributed her decision to El-Sayed’s “anger” and “lack of kindness,” after disagreements involving his political positions and his association with streamer Hasan Piker.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had separately described some of El-Sayed’s positions as “concerning.”

But the split gained new significance when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries indicated that Stevens’s standing among House Democrats could face scrutiny.

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“Haley Stevens made a terrible decision, blindsided everyone and isolated herself from the House Democratic Caucus,” Jeffries told Politico on Monday. “We will have a discussion about appropriate next steps upon our return.”

Congress is scheduled to return November 9. Jeffries did not specify what action, if any, the caucus would take.

Rogers, meanwhile, welcomed Democrats unwilling to support El-Sayed, singling out Stevens’s former supporters in his appeal.

“If you are a Haley Stevens voter who rejects this bigoted and hateful candidate, you have a home with us,” Rogers said. He also appealed to voters concerned about housing, education and gas prices.

Stevens’s decision became a point of contention on Monday’s “The View,” where Sara Haines challenged colleagues who viewed her crossover endorsement as a betrayal.

Sunny Hostin said “Shame on her” if Stevens was motivated by a bruised ego, while Ana Navarro suggested El-Sayed’s decision not to include Stevens at a campaign event was behind her break with the nominee. Whoopi Goldberg raised questions about the endorsement’s timing.

Haines acknowledged prejudice directed at El-Sayed but argued that concern about his political associations could not simply be dismissed.

“I disagree. And I actually think that, although there’s a lot of Islamophobia here that are muddying the waters, there are deep concerns about his beliefs,” Haines said.

“Campaigning with Hasan Piker, you could not put enough room between me and that man. And we went after the Republicans for going around with Nick Fuentes, also problematic,” she continued.

Haines compared Stevens’s decision with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney’s break from her party to support Kamala Harris.

“If crossing party lines can be an act of conscience for Liz Cheney, I don’t know why the automatic response was that this was betrayal somehow,” Haines argued.

Alyssa Farah Griffin also defended Stevens’s right to make that choice, citing what she called “real issues” about antisemitism and invoking the same Cheney comparison.

“We shouldn’t just praise independents when Liz Cheney breaks with Republicans, because she thinks that’s the principled position. If this woman feels this is the principled position for her, she has every right to do that,” Griffin said.

Haines described the endorsement as “brave” and insisted that political parties must continue to earn support rather than expect it automatically.

“They must earn it every single time. And that’s why this was actually a very brave thing for her to do,” she said.

The argument followed a confrontation over Stevens’s role in El-Sayed’s campaign. A source familiar with the situation told NewsNation that El-Sayed had disinvited Stevens from a planned appearance and told her to avoid his events.

El-Sayed responded Friday by accusing Stevens of revisiting their primary fight instead of concentrating on the Republican nominee.

“So, while Congresswoman Stevens seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago, let’s all focus on the task at hand: that’s beating Mike Rogers, holding Trump accountable, and getting money out of politics,” he wrote.

Springsteen wasn’t the only entertainer publicly backing El-Sayed. “The Princess Bride” actor Mandy Patinkin posted a video and lengthy message Friday making his own case for the Democrat, with a particular emphasis on Jewish Americans’ safety.

“Jewish safety depends on a real multiracial democracy—and Abdul is the one fighting to protect it,” Patinkin wrote.

The actor argued that equal protection under the law and democratic institutions were essential to the security of minority communities. He also accused Rogers of aligning himself with President Donald Trump and rejecting the 2020 election results.

“Mike Rogers has chosen to align himself with a movement that is willing to attack our democracy. He stood with Trump and refused to accept the results of the 2020 election,” Patinkin wrote.

Patinkin warned that government actions targeting particular communities should concern Jewish Americans and ended his endorsement by connecting their security directly to his preferred Senate candidate.

“Jewish safety is tied to the health of our democracy. We can’t protect one without protecting the other. And in this Senate race, Abdul is the candidate who understands that and is willing to fight for it,” he wrote.

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