Stevens Calls for ‘Healing,’ Slams Democrats, Denies Fiancé’s Role

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens has launched a fierce criticism of her own party while calling for “healing” in a nearly 900-word statement defending her extraordinary decision to endorse a Republican Senate candidate.

The Michigan congresswoman explained her dramatic reversal in a lengthy post on X Monday night, accusing Democrats of rejecting dissent, taking aim at their nominee Abdul El-Sayed and strongly denying that her fiancé played any role in the decision.

Stevens lost the Democratic Senate primary to El-Sayed in August but said she remains a committed Democrat, even after backing Republican Mike Rogers just 48 hours before the midterm election.

“My decision to withdraw my endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed and support Mike Rogers has angered many Democrats. I understand why,” she wrote at the beginning of her statement.

“But it was not impulsive, and it was not made for me by anyone else. It was a decision of conscience.”

Her statement, titled “The Decisions We Make,” followed a tense CNN interview Sunday night in which Anderson Cooper repeatedly pressed Stevens to explain why she had abruptly changed her position.

The controversy intensified after prominent Democrats condemned her endorsement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described it as a “despicable betrayal,” while several members of Stevens’ congressional staff resigned in protest.

Rather than offer an apology, Stevens stood by her choice and accused Democrats of penalizing members who break with the party line. She also questioned whether the party truly embraced the inclusion and tolerance it frequently advocates.

“Instead of asking how a lifelong Democrat reached this point, some leaders rushed to condemn me, question my motives, and try to force me out,” she wrote.

“We cannot claim to support inclusion while punishing disagreement. And we cannot promise to mend a divided nation if we are unwilling to accept differences within our own party.”

Stevens also addressed speculation that her fiancé, Jason Turkish, had driven her decision to support Rogers.

Turkish had publicly said before Stevens’ endorsement that he planned to vote for Rogers.

“Some critics have also pulled my fiancé into this, implying that he or someone else must have made the decision on my behalf,” she wrote.

“A woman can serve in Congress, campaign statewide, and stand up for her beliefs, yet when she makes a decision others dislike, people still assume someone else is controlling her.”

“That is sexism disguised as political analysis. My fiancé has his opinions, and I have mine. I made this decision, and I stand by it.”

Stevens then detailed her complaints about El-Sayed, alleging that she was sidelined by his campaign even after endorsing him following their contentious primary battle.

‘I was shut out. The endorsement was welcomed; the people behind it seemed to be forgotten,’ she wrote.

She singled out an advertisement from an outside group supporting El-Sayed that linked rising grocery prices to American support for Israel.

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Another advertisement from El-Sayed’s own campaign featured conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, whose appearance Stevens said had upset black and Jewish voters.

‘Blaming Israel for the price of eggs and elevating Tucker Carlson are not the way to build trust or bring people together,’ she declared.

She also attacked El-Sayed’s association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, accusing him of displaying poor judgment by campaigning alongside someone whose remarks about Jewish Americans she found troubling.

Stevens acknowledged that El-Sayed had condemned Piker’s comparison of outreach to Jewish voters in West Bloomfield to canvassing a Ku Klux Klan neighborhood.

But she insisted the candidate’s decision to embrace the streamer in the first place raised questions about his suitability for office.

‘Once I concluded that Abdul El-Sayed is not fit to serve in the United States Senate, I had to confront who should,’ she wrote.

‘I chose Mike Rogers, with the hope that he can serve in the tradition of John McCain: a senator willing to put country before party.’

The lengthy explanation came barely 24 hours after Stevens struggled to give Cooper a clear answer about the timing of her decision.

Fellow Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell had said Stevens assured her on Saturday night that she would not endorse Rogers.

Yet the following morning, Stevens appeared alongside the Republican at Detroit’s Perfecting Church, abandoning plans to campaign with El-Sayed.

Pressed by Cooper about what had changed overnight, Stevens replied: ‘I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart and that’s that.’

As the interview became increasingly tense, she accused the CNN host of being upset with her.

‘You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating,’ Cooper responded.

The spectacle delighted Republicans, with President Donald Trump praising Stevens as a ‘Highly Respected Democrat’ and expressing hope she might join his party.

Her fellow Democrats were considerably less impressed.

Michigan Democratic Party chairman Curtis Hertel accused her of abandoning her principles, while Dingell described the CNN exchange as ‘one of the most painful interviews I have watched.’

Stevens’ longtime chief of staff also resigned, declaring: ‘We are shocked and heartbroken.’

Despite the condemnation, Stevens ended Monday’s statement by insisting she wanted to help rebuild the very party whose Senate candidate she had just abandoned.

‘There is healing to be done in Michigan, in our party, and in our country,’ she wrote.

‘We can build a stronger, more welcoming, more courageous Democratic Party. And I plan to help lead that effort.’