Another prominent Democrat has broken ranks with his party in Michigans high-stakes Senate race, publicly rejecting far-left nominee Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed and backing Republican Mike Rogers instead.
According to Breitbart, Michael LaRosa, who once served as press secretary to First Lady Jill Biden, announced that he will support Rogers, a former Republican congressman, in the November general election. LaRosas move underscores growing unease among traditional Democrats over the partys embrace of radical, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned candidates in key races.
LaRosa posted a striking declaration on X, quoting longtime Democrat Julian Epstein. After decades of giving my all for Democratic House and Senate candidates, this fall I will support and contribute to Mike Rogers, Michigans GOP Senate nominee, instead. And Ill do everything I can to make sure other Democrats follow.
He tagged Epstein in the post, signaling that the sentiment was not an isolated outburst but part of a broader internal revolt against the partys hard-left drift. The words were Epsteins, a former chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee and veteran Democratic attorney who has now gone public with his break from the party line.
On Thursday, Epstein laid out his case in a New York Post op-ed titled, Im a longtime Democrat fighting for GOPs Mike Rogers, and my partys soul, in Michigan. Epstein began, President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, may have said it best: In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
He continued, It was a warning to those who tolerate the rise of authoritarian communism that they will inevitably end up next on the dinner menu. Epstein then applied Kennedys warning directly to Michigans primary outcome, writing, Michigan Democrats, in nominating Abdul El-Sayed for Senate on Tuesday, seem to be riding the back of that tiger. But not me. Im climbing off the beast.
Epstein and, by clear implication, LaRosa are objecting to the socialist ideology and extreme positions associated with DSA-backed candidates who have recently won primaries in New York and other states. The DSA platform is openly hostile to core American institutions, calling for the elimination of policing, prisons, borders, the Senate, the presidency, the Supreme Court, and democratic free markets.
Epstein blasted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as timid and weak, accusing him of hiding behind the slogan we are a big-tent party while abdicating his moral and political responsibilities. That criticism reflects a growing belief among centrist Democrats and conservatives alike that party leaders are enabling a fringe agenda that undermines law enforcement, national sovereignty, and constitutional checks and balances.
El-Sayed, a former Michigan health official, insists he is not a formal member of the DSA, yet he is widely viewed as a far-left candidate who has called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has labeled Israels actions in Gaza as genocide. In the aftermath of the George Floyd incident in 2020, he also advocated defunding the police, aligning himself with a movement that has coincided with surging crime in many American cities.
Despite his denial of DSA membership, El-Sayed has attracted enthusiastic backing from that movements leading figures, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). He has also campaigned with online influencer Hasan Piker, known for amplifying DSA rhetoric alongside anti-American and antisemitic commentary, a combination that alarms voters who value national strength, support for Israel, and public order under President Trumps second administration.
For Democrats like Epstein and LaRosa, the Michigan race has become a referendum on whether their party will continue to tolerate candidates who seek to dismantle the very institutions that safeguard American liberty and prosperity. Their decision to support Mike Rogers signals that, at least for some lifelong Democrats, preserving borders, policing, and a functioning free-market system now outweighs partisan loyalty in a contest that could reshape the balance of power in the Senate.
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