Congresswoman Haley Stevens ran for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate seat in Michigan. She lost to Abdul el-Sayed. Yesterday rather than attend a unity event arranged by Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC, a major power broker in Washington), she attended a black church with the Republican incumbent Mike Rogers. After praying, she came out and made a formal and public endorsement of Mr. Rogers, less than 48 hours before election day. The backlash has been crushing. Her staff resigned en masse. The Michigan Democratic Party kicked her out and banned her from ever rejoining. And Dr. el-Sayed went on to raise $1.2 million in a day. It is hard to recall another politician who destroyed his or her own career so completely in such a brief time.
Ms. Stevens is well-known in Michigan circles as a rather nasty piece of work as a human being. She is hot-tempered, impulsive and erratic. Many credit her staff with insulating her from the public. The woman who finished third in the primary, state senator Mallory McMorrow, said, “It feels like it’s more about her feelings than Michiganders. Politics is not easy. I was in this primary too. It was one of the most brutal, ugliest primaries I have certainly seen. But there is too much on the line right now. It is a choice between MAGA and Michigan. And I’m on team Michigan.” The implication being that Ms. Stevens is not on Team Michigan, effectively betraying her own voters.
The New York Times reported that on Saturday, “She was on the cusp of appearing at a unity event with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated her in a summer primary and became Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee. Several powerful intermediaries had been trying to broker peace between the former rivals, who were sparring over Dr. El-Sayed’s strong criticisms of Israel.
“But after Ms. Stevens issued a hostile statement Friday morning calling upon Dr. El-Sayed to condemn an ad made by a supportive PAC and make other concessions, he stepped before reporters and said what his campaign had been signaling privately: He no longer wanted Ms. Stevens to join him at a Detroit church on Sunday.”
If she had not been irritated before, she was furious after that. Being told “no thanks” was one thing; being told “no thanks” in front of TV cameras was much worse. And she responded without thinking, a dangerous thing for a politician.
Her response was not to go quietly having lost the primary. Her response was not to make a principled appeal to him about his treatment of her. No, she simply pitched a fit and endorsed a man about whom she had said “will be another rubber stamp” for Donald Trump’s agenda. (August, 2026). She also said “Millionaire Mike Rogers” is “the worst kind of politician.” (April, 2026). Add to that, his “record on LGBTQ rights is repulsive.” (June, 2026). If that were not enough, his “record on LGBTQ rights is repulsive.” (June, 2026). This is the man she endorsed.
The response of the Democratic Party establishment was merciless. The state party kicked her out never to return. Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called her move a “despicable betrayal.” And he had backed her in the primary.
With hundreds of thousands of votes already cast, and with the state and the nation so tribally divided, her move is unlikely to shift more than a handful of votes. Mike Rogers is probably going to lose. When he does, she is going to be left with nothing. She is not running for her seat in the House, and she is not going to get another chance for public office with the Democratic Party. Her future is that of Tulsi Gabbard; she can work with the GOP but will not be taken very seriously beyond a narrow portfolio. They will not nominate her as she is unreliable.
On Friday, she was a viable contender for future office: a return to the House, perhaps a run at governor, maybe mayor of some city. Today, she is fated to be a talking head in right-wing, crackpot media. And she destroyed it all on her own.