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Haley Stevens is currently a representative, but that will come to an end on January 3, as she gave up her House seat to mount an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate. As it turns out, her time as a Democrat appears to have come to an end even sooner.
After Stevens was defeated by Abdul El-Sayed (D) in a primary that was ugly on both sides, she acted like a good soldier and said that she was on Team El-Sayed because she is on Team Democrats. She has been largely absent since, and when she did pop up, her support for El-Sayed was noticeably tepid. For this reason, the El-Sayed campaign said last week that it had no interest in Stevens helping out in the last week of the race. Then, over the weekend, Stevens announced she was endorsing Mike Rogers (R), promptly overtaking Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D?-TX) in the race to win this year's Sour Grapes Award.
So, what happened here? It could be that Stevens simply could not tame the negative feelings left over from the primary, that she felt she had to vent them, and this weekend was her last chance. It might also have been specifically a response to the "thanks but no thanks" from the El-Sayed campaign. However, the likeliest explanation is that Stevens and El-Sayed are on opposite sides of the Israel issue. Stevens is about to marry a Jewish gentleman who loathes El-Sayed. And while she is not currently Jewish, she is reportedly converting. So, there is much scuttlebutt that this is what worsened an already bad relationship with Sayed, to the point that the festering wound burst open. Of course, someone could ask Stevens to explain herself, but... Anderson Cooper already did, and she struggled to answer.
Perhaps the Representative feels better having gotten that off her chest. Hopefully that was worth it, because she just ended her career in politics, at least as a Democrat. It is one thing to take sides against the family (well, the Party) in public. It's another thing to do it the weekend before an election. It's another thing still to do it in a race that is very close, and that could possibly determine control of the Senate. We got a number of comments from readers; here's a selection:
K.H. in Maryville, TN, writes: I hope the El-Sayed camp comes out swinging and says, "The recent actions of Ms. Stevens have proved that Michigan Democrats have chosen the right person to be Michigan's next senator. Her flaking out at the 11th hour is proof that she is not reliable, she is beholden to special interest groups, and she is not fit to serve the citizens of this great state."
K.J. in Pittsburgh, PA, writes: Haley Stevens thought she had a future in politics. And maybe she does. But it won't be in elective office after this weekend. She is not charismatic enough. She thought she had a Senate seat sewn up with support from Democratic party honchos. Being a sore loser is a bad look for a Democrat, even if Republicans don't seem to care about that. Maybe she has a future in a post-Trump Republican party. In the meantime, she is auditioning for a political consultancy job, maybe with AIPAC.
A.G. in Scranton, PA, writes: Ha! I love James Carville! He's a loudmouthed, foul-mouthed former Marine who believes the Democratic Party's focus on silly "woke" stuff and identity issues scared away the blue-collar base... and he just said that Haley Stevens sold her soul for food!
He and I are basically different versions of the same guy, and he just said the same thing I did about that traitorous racist.
R.V. in Pittsburgh, PA, writes: Haley Stevens should open up the Bitterness Cafe (and maybe she could include Tulsi Gabbard, John Fetterman and Joe Manchin as co-owners). Where did this last minute endorsement of Mike Rogers come from? The Hasan Piker crap has been out there since before the Michigan senate primary. All of a sudden she's bothered by it now. as the election is 2 days away.
Perhaps Elon Musk said "Hey Haley, endorse Mike Rogers and I'll buy you and your family Christmas gifts for life, plus a free Tesla." So it's like winning both showcases on the Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right.
K.B. in Chicago, IL, writes: Haley Stevens is yet again revealing exactly who she is with her last-minute attacks on Abdul El-Sayed. With her fiancé endorsing and appearing at an event for Mike Rogers and Stevens demanding an apology the weekend before the election, she once again makes it all about herself as the Democratic Party tries to reclaim the Senate. Frankly, it's disgusting.
Democratic Party primary voters made the right call. Stevens is a narcissist and fraud. She pretended to endorse Abdul after the primary and then spent months actively trying to sabotage the Democratic nominee. She should have no future in the party. Democratic Party elites who tried to foist her on voters should be ashamed, too.
Thankfully, polling shows Michiganders are backing El-Sayed, as Rogers and his ilk try to smear him as a jihadist. Funny coming from a party with militant "Christians" who want to wage a holy war against Muslims. The smears don't look all that different from the ones against Barack Obama, who dealt with both anti-Black racism and anti-Muslim smears (despite being Christian).
Contrast Stevens with Francesca Hong (D), who is actively campaigning for David Crowley in Wisconsin, despite their ideological differences. The difference between the majority of progressives and centrists like Stevens is that progressives are actively supporting people like Hamilton in Kansas and Crowley in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, many centrists are actively rooting against both Abdul El-Sayed and Angie Nixon (D).
We need to have a big tent to defeat MAGA once and for all. It should run the full spectrum from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to Adam Hamilton. Candidates need to be a good fit for their states and districts. They need to be able to win primaries without a $50 million advantage from right-wing super PACs. And we need to show the door to disloyal, narcissistic frauds like Haley Stevens, someone voters already rejected.
House Democrats are so hopping mad that they want to expel her from the House Democratic Caucus. And Stevens' chief-of-staff and many other staffers quit. That is not ALL that meaningful right now, in that there are only 20 or so days left in this session, and she might not bother showing up to work anyhow. On the other hand, if she does show up to finish out her term, she could be a rebel vote, making things like the Hegseth impeachment harder to get passed. (Z & V)