Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) was once considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. Accolades from her colleagues and an adoring media were plentiful.
“I am so proud to endorse her for U.S. Senate,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) declared on July 24. “Haley knows how to get things done for Michigan. She’ll be ready to deliver on day one on manufacturing, lowering costs, and protecting our health care and Social Security.”
Whitmer stands at 55% approval in a state that President Donald Trump won twice, including in 2024, so her endorsement clearly showed Stevens was held in high regard. Others, including retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, all gave Stevens their blessing during the primaries.
Abdul el Sayed, however, eked out a victory over Stevens in the primary by a single percentage point, despite polls showing he should have cruised to a double-digit victory. After the result was called, Stevens conceded and endorsed el Sayed at a unity breakfast the following day, but the two would not speak to each other from that day on. Stevens also did not attend any of el Sayed’s rallies in Oakland County, which falls under her district in the House.
The relationship, or lack thereof, completely imploded when party leaders attempted to hold another unity party event featuring Stevens, el Sayed and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) in an effort to strengthen black support, a crucial voting bloc that el Sayed is struggling with. But Stevens didn’t commit to the event, citing a highly controversial PAC ad for el Sayed that somehow blamed Israel for the cost of food in Michigan. The brains behind the ad, Cenk Uygur, is the uncle of antisemite Hasan Piker. For his part, el Sayed half-heartedly said he didn’t agree with the ad.
After el Sayed told Stevens she was not welcome at any of his remaining events before Election Day, Stevens had heard enough. And in what can now be called the November surprise of this election season, Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers and attended church with him on Sunday.
“Our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he’s right,” Stevens said in a video posted on Sunday. “And that’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today.”
The reaction from the Left has been nothing short of apocalyptic.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: “This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens.”
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, right, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., attend a service at Perfecting Church, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, right, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., attend a service at Perfecting Church, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel: “Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI): “So anyone who makes an election this important about themselves, and not Michiganders and our democracy, should think hard about whether they are serving the greater good.”
And if you think those statements are harsh-bordering-on-unhinged, it gets worse when looking at reactions from members of the media.
Bill Kristol, editor-at-large of the Bulwark: “She seems to have had some sort of nervous breakdown.”
Keith Olbermann, former MSNBC host and ESPN anchor: “Not to downplay Haley Stevens’ vermin-like betrayal of her party and her constituents and her nation… But given her track record as a clownish loser, do we really believe any who will now follow her weren’t already going to vote for the Fascist?”
Sunny Hostin, ABC News: “This is very much about Haley Stevens’ bruised ego. And her ego should not sort of supersede her country. And that was extremely disappointing to me… so if you’re talking about hate and anger, you’re talking about the Republican Party and the man that you’ve decided to endorse at the last minute. I really think this was about her bruised ego. And if that’s the case, shame on her.”
CNN’s Van Jones: “I think that Haley Stevens did a huge disservice to people in Michigan who had real concerns. Is Abdul going to do a good job helping the Jewish voters? That’s the issue. And rather than her leaving it at that, she makes it about herself. She says, well, he didn’t invite me, so now I’m going to go with the other guy. This isn’t high school!”
But the best-worst reaction came from MS Now’s Joe Scarborough: “She’s offended by a third-party antisemitic ad?! Something doesn’t add up!”
It’s an odd take from Scarborough since she had every right to be offended, as many people were, by an ad blaming the Jews for high grocery prices in Michigan.
The headlines from left-leaning outlets continued to pile on Stevens’s sudden psychosis that never existed until she endorsed Rogers. In Variety, one headline declared she is “unfit for office” while the New Republic asked, “Has anyone in history ever crashed out like Haley Stevens just did?”
The Michigan Chronicle even went so far with this headline: “Haley Stevens Needs to Put the Political Theater Away and Get Out of the Way.”
The irony here is that the same people outraged about Stevens’s endorsement of Rogers were mostly the same people fine with Graham Platner, the Nazi-tattooed candidate in Maine.
They’re also the same folks who had no issue with Hasan Piker’s role campaigning for el Sayed. For whatever reason, that wasn’t deemed offensive.
And the outrage over Stevens jumping ship is comedy gold. Remember when Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger declared their hatred for Trump and were heralded by Democrats and their media allies alike for showing such bravery? That sentiment is noticeably absent regarding Haley Stevens, only because of the letter next to her name.
HALEY STEVENS’S ENDORSEMENT OF MIKE ROGERS ‘BACKFIRED’ AS ABDUL EL SAYED RAKES IN DONATIONS: DEBBIE DINGELL
Stevens took a stand after being dismissed by an insecure, arrogant el Sayed over an ad he refused to condemn.
And for that crime, she will forever be banished by a party that clearly has gone off the rails.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
