Democratic Attorney Endorses Republican Rogers in Michigan Senate Race, Criticizes El-Sayed and Party Direction

A prominent Democratic attorney with deep ties to the Clinton era has publicly backed Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s competitive Senate race, directly opposing his own party’s newly nominated candidate. Julian Epstein, who served as chief legal counsel to House Democrats during the Clinton impeachment proceedings and later provided legal counsel to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, announced his position through an op-ed published in the New York Post on Thursday.

In a Friday interview with Fox News Digital, Epstein characterized his endorsement as a departure from the Democratic Party, stating the organization has “gone off the deep end.” He claimed the party leadership has lost touch with mainstream voters and shifted too far left on policy matters while abandoning what he described as its moral foundation.

Epstein leveled sharp criticism at Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, accusing him of embracing ideological positions aligned with Senator Bernie Sanders and expressing what he characterized as problematic sympathies toward Middle Eastern movements. He also criticized Hasan Piker, identified as El-Sayed’s principal campaign surrogate, citing controversial statements attributed to Piker regarding U.S. foreign policy and international figures.

El-Sayed narrowly won Tuesday’s Democratic primary against Michigan Representative Haley Stevens, an establishment-backed candidate who campaigned on progressive platforms while maintaining support for Israel. Epstein predicted Rogers, whom he described as a pragmatic moderate, would effectively contrast himself with El-Sayed’s positions during the general election campaign.