"Petty, selfish, unhinged": Haley Stevens' staff and colleagues erupt at her "betrayal"
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Summary
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) faced fierce backlash from fellow Democrats, party officials and her own staffers after endorsing Republican Mike Rogers for the 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." The latest: CNN's Anderson Cooper repeatedly pressed Stevens on why she changed her mind during an at times testy interview, asking whether she still wanted Democrats to win control of the Senate. "I absolutely do. I'm just casting this vote in my own way," she replied. When Cooper pointed out that she was "publicly casting your vote," Stevens responded: "I'm just one person." 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.
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