Congresswoman Haley Stevens of Michigan defended her decision to drop her support for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and back Republican Mike Rogers in the state's Senate race, the New York Post reports. She made the case in a long post on X on Monday.

"It was not impulsive, and it was not made for me by anyone else. It was a decision of conscience," Stevens wrote, according to the Post. She called suggestions that her fiance, Jason Turkish, made the decision for her "sexism," the Post reports. Turkish had announced last week that he would vote for Rogers, the Post says.

Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary to El-Sayed in August by 1 percentage point, ABC News reports. She endorsed Rogers on Sunday, days before the election.

The split followed a dispute over ads that Stevens said were offensive to Black and Jewish voters, ABC News reports. El-Sayed said one of the ads was not run by his campaign and that he did not agree with it, ABC News says. Plans for Stevens to appear with El-Sayed at a Detroit church event fell apart, ABC News reports.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the endorsement "a despicable betrayal," the Guardian reports. Curtis Hertel, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Stevens was not a member of the party "nor will she be in the future," the Guardian says. Several members of her congressional staff resigned in protest, the Guardian reports.

Republicans welcomed the move. President Donald Trump called it an "act of bravery," and House Speaker Mike Johnson said Stevens "did a heroic and important thing for the country," ABC News reports. Rogers said to Fox News that the endorsement was "nothing but courageous," ABC News says.

El-Sayed's campaign said it raised $2.4 million in the hours after the endorsement, its best fundraising day, ABC News reports. In her post, Stevens said she intends to remain a Democrat, the Post reports.

No results in the Michigan race had been reported by the cited outlets.