Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers on Sunday, a major shakeup in the final stages of a top battleground race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

“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,” Stevens said in a video.

“And he’s right, and that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today,” she said. “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign.”

The congresswoman’s announcement marks a whirlwind turnabout from just days ago, when she said she would support her party’s ticket and planned to attend a campaign event on Sunday to support Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

But leading up to the rally, Stevens and El-Sayed released dueling critical public statements, prompting concerns from Democrats that the spat was a distraction from what is widely seen as one of the most competitive Senate races.

Stevens had said that she expected El-Sayed to condemn an ad from an outside group that she said was antisemitic. El-Sayed responded, accusing Stevens of being “intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.”

NBC News reported Saturday that El-Sayed’s campaign had asked Stevens to no longer attend campaign events following the dueling statements.

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[–] 7 points 11 hours ago

However you still have to win party approval to be on the ballot under that party label.

This is wrong. The state election commission controls who is on the ballot for which party and a party can't veto a primary candidate off the ballot. Party membership is not required to run in an open primary.

If a candidate wins the primary they represent the party on the general ballot. The party can withhold official endorsements and resources but that doesn't change the general ballot.

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