Haley Stevens' staff and colleagues erupt at her "betrayal"
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Rep. Haley Stevens speaks at a press conference with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in Detroit, Mich., on Nov. 1. Photo: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) faced fierce backlash from fellow Democrats, party officials and her own staffers after endorsing Republican Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate on Sunday.
Why it matters: It's a stunning reversal in standing for Stevens, who came within a few percentage points of being her party's nominee for Senate in Michigan just months earlier.
- "Pathetic, petty, selfish, unhinged," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios of her endorsement of Rogers. "You run out of words."
- Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) said of the video Stevens posted to social media announcing her endorsement and her joint press conference with Rogers: "I've seen more pleasant self-immolations."
State of play: Stevens' endorsement of Rogers came after her long-running feud with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed reached a boiling point over the weekend.
- El-Sayed, a leftist who narrowly defeated the more moderate Stevens in the Senate primary in August, said in a statement on Friday that Stevens "seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago."
- Stevens had been pressing El-Sayed to more forcefully condemn an ad from an outside super PAC that suggested U.S. aid to Israel was partly to blame for rising prices.
- Stevens, in her video endorsing Rogers, said that El-Sayed "said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign, and that I should stay away," adding, "He's right. ... I don't belong in Abdul's campaign."
What they're saying: Stevens' Democratic colleagues met her endorsement with shock and fury. "I am lost for words," Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) told Axios.
- Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) said in a text to Axios: "I'm shocked that Haley would do this ... right before the election."
- "I JUST SAW THIS BULLSHIT," Rep. Emily Randall (D-Wash.) texted. "There is too much on the line for BS like this."
- "What the fuck is she doing?" another House Democrat said. "This election is not about her, and this will not age well."
Zoom in: "I'm dumbfounded that Haley told me one thing last night and changed her mind today," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who had previously said Stevens told him in a phone call she was "voting straight down the line on the Democratic ticket."
- Raskin told Axios in a brief interview: "There is a great sense of betrayal for this to happen at the last minute before such a critical election."
- Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) told Axios: "Stevens showed her true colors and Michiganders could see right through her. It's why she lost the Democratic primary."
- "I'm sincerely worried about my friend," Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) said.
What we're hearing: Several of Stevens' staff members resigned shortly after her announcement on Sunday, a former staffer familiar with the matter told Axios.
- Her former chief of staff Justin German said in a statement that he was "shocked and heartbroken" and that "many members of our team have resigned, including myself."
- Curtis Hertel, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said in a post on X: "Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future."
The other side: "This is what happens to the far left when they go against the centrists," a centrist House Democrat told Axios.
- The lawmaker added: "I don't think I would have done what she did. But this is what the far left needs to understand when they burn bridges."
- Another centrist House Democrat told Axios that El-Sayed "created this mess," adding: "He should have just condemned the ad and invited her to church."
- Stevens did not immediately respond to Axios' text seeking comment.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with more comment from Democrats.
