LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Congresswoman Haley Stevens received a major endorsement for her U.S. Senate campaign on Friday: the backing of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“Just like me, Haley will do whatever it takes to get things done for the people of Michigan,” Whitmer said in a video endorsement.

Stevens called Whitmer a “champion for our state” and said she’s thrilled by the endorsement.

Stevens is in a hotly contested race with Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate who has the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will take on GOP challenger Mike Rogers.

Both the national and state GOP are calling Whitmer’s endorsement a “last-minute” effort to save the party.

Hunter Lowell, the Midwest regional communications director for the Republican National Committee, said, “The Democrat establishment is in full-blown panic mode. Gretchen Whitmer’s endorsement of Haley Stevens is their latest attempt to stop Abdul El-Sayed’s socialist takeover. No matter who wins this head-on-collision Senate primary, Michigan voters will choose common sense over crazy and elect Mike Rogers to Get Michigan Working Again.”

Michigan Republican Party Senior Communications Advisor Greg Manz said Whitmer’s endorsement of Stevens shows that “establishment Democrats are beyond panicked.”

Manz added, “However, Whitmer closing ranks behind Stevens does not change the fact that she is every bit as extreme as Abdul El-Sayed. Michiganders won’t be fooled into believing Haley Stevens is any less radical than Abdul El-Sayed. Their policies are indistinguishable, and either one would advance the same far-left agenda that would be devastating for Michigan.”

The Michigan Voting Dashboard shows that 9.4% of Michigan’s 7.3 million registered voters have already submitted absentee ballots. Early in-person voting begins in Michigan on Saturday, July 25.