Haley Stevens Endorses Mike Rogers; Party Demands Unity
DETROIT, Michigan — Michigan Democrats spent the autumn warning voters that Donald Trump and the Republican Party threatened their Senate ambitions. Then former Democratic Senate hopeful Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, demonstrating that the greatest danger to Democratic unity might be a Democrat who remembers losing a primary.
Stevens narrowly lost the August nomination to Abdul El-Sayed, initially endorsed him and then, with fewer than 48 hours before the election, decided Rogers was the better choice. Political scientists call this a reversal. Divorce attorneys call it Tuesday.
Why Haley Stevens Switched Sides in the Michigan Senate Race
The change unfolded at church, where Stevens appeared with Rogers after plans to attend a service alongside El-Sayed and Democratic elder Jim Clyburn collapsed. Most Americans change churches over music, parking or the coffee. In Michigan, apparently, the deciding factor is whether the Democratic Senate nominee wants you in the pew.
Stevens said El-Sayed had told her to stay away from his campaign. Rogers, meanwhile, made clear she was welcome. Democrats have invested millions in outreach strategies, focus groups and voter persuasion. Republicans discovered the competitive advantage of opening a door.
Dale Prewitt, 61, has ushered the center aisle at the congregation for nineteen years and said he has never had to consult a campaign schedule to decide where a guest sits. “I’ve seated people who were late, loud and from Ohio,” Prewitt said. “I’ve never had to figure out which Senate campaign a woman was allowed to stand next to. I put her where there was room. There was room.”
Stevens’ Fiancé Jason Turkish Backs Rogers Over El-Sayed
The political break had already entered Stevens’ household. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, publicly backed Rogers before she did. Most engaged couples argue about wedding seating charts or whose mother gets the good hotel room. This household was negotiating control of the United States Senate.
The disagreement centered partly on Israel and an outside group’s advertisement linking American support for Israel to grocery prices. Stevens demanded that El-Sayed denounce the message; El-Sayed rejected the ad’s contents and said it was not his campaign’s work. Unfortunately, by then the Democrats had moved beyond ordinary policy differences into the advanced stage known as inviting your opponent to Thanksgiving.
Stevens insisted she remained a Democrat, while endorsing the Republican. It is the political equivalent of announcing you’re still vegetarian while ordering a steak because the salad insulted your fiancé.
Haley Stevens’ Chief of Staff and Aides Resign After Rogers Endorsement
Her endorsement also produced an immediate staffing breakthrough. Her longtime chief of staff and other aides resigned, leaving Republican consultants wondering whether they could list the Democratic congressional office as an unpaid campaign partner. Imagine spending a year warning voters about Republicans, then discovering the boss has decided to help elect one. There isn’t a human-resources handbook thick enough.
A memo circulated among former staffers and obtained by reporters Sunday was titled “Transition of Duties: Remaining Personnel.” It runs four lines. The third reads, in full: “Please return badges, parking passes and any Rogers yard signs found in the supply closet. Nobody is in trouble. We are all in trouble.” The memo was not signed.
Michigan Democratic Party Leaders Demand Unity Behind El-Sayed
Trump, who called Stevens a “Radical Left Socialist” during the primary, celebrated her endorsement as courageous. The transformation required no policy change, no ideological manifesto and apparently no waiting period. Washington has finally discovered a cure for socialism: endorse a Republican, and the symptoms disappear before dinner.
Michigan Democratic chair Curtis Hertel condemned Stevens. Senate Democratic leaders rallied behind El-Sayed. Party unity was declared immediately, which is normally how you know it has left the building.
Meanwhile, someone close to El-Sayed suggested the defection could strengthen his anti-establishment credentials. This is an exciting new branch of campaign mathematics: lose your allies, gain momentum; lose your staff, gain authenticity; lose the election, and presumably claim an overwhelming moral landslide.
El-Sayed tried to redirect attention to Michigan’s millions of other residents, who mostly want lower bills and functioning government rather than a televised custody battle over the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, political campaigns now operate like group projects: half the students do the work, the other half join the rival school, and everybody demands credit.
What the Stevens Endorsement Means for the Michigan Senate Election
A survey of 800 likely Michigan voters by the Great Lakes Civic Research Institute, taken as the endorsement news spread, found 38 percent could name the Democratic nominee for Senate. Sixty-one percent could name the Democrat who endorsed the Republican. Respondents who could name neither were asked whether they planned to vote. Most said they were still looking for the polling place, and a smaller group said the church. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 points, and the researchers noted it did not appear to matter.
Republicans, who once needed expensive advertising to divide Democrats, can now apparently stay home and watch them debate which Democrat is insufficiently Democratic. Rogers gets the endorsement, Trump gets the spectacle, and voters get a timely reminder that the only thing more expensive than a Senate campaign is a political grudge with no expiration date. Voters can confirm registration status, polling locations and ballot details through the Michigan Secretary of State elections office, and campaign finance filings for every candidate are public at the Federal Election Commission.
Five Humorous Observations
- She lost by about one point. One. I’ve lost bigger arguments about where to eat, and I still went to the Applebee’s. These people lose a Senate primary and join the other team’s church.
- Your fiancé votes for the other guy. That’s not a political disagreement, that’s a hostage situation with a seating chart. In a normal house you fight about who loads the dishwasher wrong. Here it’s the Senate majority, and nobody’s allowed to say “fine” for a week.
- The chief of staff quits and the boss finds out the same way the rest of us do, from a headline. In every other job you leave a sticky note on the monitor. In politics you leave a sticky note on the Republican National Committee.
- “Party unity has been declared.” Great. That’s the same energy as a guy in a parking lot saying “I’m totally fine” while taking his shirt off. If you have to announce it, it’s already on fire.
- They went to church for this. God has seen plagues, floods, the Bills in four straight Super Bowls, and now He’s up there going, “You two again? Back pew, by the donuts, and don’t touch the microphone.”
Reporting references: Axios and Roll Call.