Haley Stevens shocks MI Senate race by endorsing Mike Rogers

[0:00] breaking news out of Michigan where Democrat Haley Stevens is appearing with GOP Senate [0:06] candidate Mike Rogers at a Detroit church. The surprising move comes on what was supposed to [0:12] be a day of democratic unity following public tensions with her former primary rival Senate [0:18] nominee Abdul El Sayed. Let's listen in right now because Haley Stevens is there to the right, [0:24] Mike Rogers to the left. And now let's hear about this. Greetings to the press corps. My name's [0:30] Haley Stevens. I'm a proud Democrat and I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States [0:38] Senate. I am one vote in this state. Michigan is a swing state and I have a divided household [0:46] as some of you have heard up until last night. But even my own mother cast her vote for Mike [0:53] Rogers as my own father cast his vote for Abdul. This is a very close election. We all know [0:59] that. But Abdul made very clear that I was not welcome in his campaign, that he didn't need [1:07] me there, that he didn't want me there. And at some point, you got to look at who's standing [1:13] for country. You know, there's always a lot of elections taking place in America. And this [1:21] is one. I'm going to cast my ballot. I still haven't done that. And 90% of the votes I'm [1:27] going to cast are going to be for Democrats. My vote for Senate, I am just one vote, as [1:33] is every Michigander. My vote for Senate is going to be with Mike Rogers. And I will tell [1:38] you why. Because we have to stand with country. We can't stand with hate. We can't stand with [1:46] Hassan Piker. Friend of mine was talking about how education is on the ballot. And it's very [1:53] true. Oh, there's a lot of young people looking at this election. You know, I was a young person [1:59] once. And we've got to make a choice about who is standing with them. I think that Chuck [2:07] Schumer is going to become the majority leader. You know, and I think that there are incredible [2:12] Democrats and incredible activity taking place across this country. I stood with my party. [2:19] And I was booed off the stage. And, you know, it was violently shouted down. You know, I was up [2:27] there with other Democrats. Those people who are on that stage with me, they're going to make their [2:31] choice. The ballot box is still very personal and private. And today, in a moment of faith, [2:39] tied to my faith, into this great city. By the way, I'm standing here with a guy named Mike Rogers. [2:45] And there's another guy named Mike, who ran the city of Detroit for 12 years. And a lot of [2:54] Detroiters voted for him. And, you know, he kind of looks like this guy. And you know what happened [2:59] with that, Mike? You know, he stepped out of his party. He put up his hand for a brief while he was [3:05] running for governor. You know, I don't know everything that's going to happen. You know, and [3:10] all I can do is lead with love and integrity. This was a personal and private decision. I woke up [3:17] this morning, and I decided to go to church. And I'm here with the person who I am voting for, [3:24] for United States Senate. And that is Mike Rogers. [3:27] Are you concerned about that? [3:28] Thanks, thanks, thanks. [3:29] Let me just say, I'm honored to have Haley Stevens' support today. I'm honored to have earned that vote. [3:35] You know, when I got the call this morning, obviously, it's probably not the day we [3:41] anticipated going forward today. But when we decided to, this would be good to worship together [3:47] today, I'll just give you a flavor, a little bit of flavor about this. We talked about America, [3:53] what was better for Americans, what was better for the future of our state by bringing people [3:58] together. You know, Martin Luther King said, you cannot solve darkness with darkness. You have to [4:04] solve it with light. You can't solve hate with hate. You have to solve it with love. And I talked to [4:12] Haley about that letter, love letter to Michigan that she wrote that I thought was very, very good. [4:17] And candidly, I'm not, I'm glad I'm not running against Haley Stevens, Stevens today. But what we [4:23] decided is sometimes there are, the hate grows so loud that it jeopardizes some of our citizens in this [4:31] state. When young Jewish women have to hide their Star Davids to walk across University of Michigan [4:37] campus, we have gone too far. When young men have to wear ball caps over their yarmulkes because they [4:44] are getting harassed for being Jewish, we have gone too far. This is more a statement about standing [4:51] together against hate and the future of this state and this country than it is anything else. And I just [4:58] want you to know, she reminded me at the end of the call, remember, I'm still a Democrat. [5:04] And there's a, you know, a big group of Democrats for Rogers. A lot of them are in my congressional [5:09] district. There are a lot of people across this beautiful state. And of course, you know, [5:15] Abdul has been running his campaign. He's been working really hard. I don't want to undermine that. [5:20] I just want to be honest about where I am and where my heart is at this time. [5:27] We'll take a couple of questions, but we'll do it in an organized way. We'll do it in an organized [5:30] way, please. Can we get outlet and name when we call on people? We'll start down here. [5:34] Are you concerned with the harm this could do to the Democratic Party? [5:40] Look, the Democratic Party is going to have another big election coming up. I'm not trying to harm [5:45] anyone. I've worked really hard for Democrats. I'm not turning my back on Democrats. It is this [5:51] one vote. And I will tell you why. Because when you see hate, when you see a standing with Hassan [5:58] Piker and repeated hate, it's not acceptable. That's it. It's my personal and private decision. [6:04] I still love the party. I've done a ton for the party. I voted with the party over and over and over [6:09] again. I'm going to continue to do that as I fill out my term. Everyone should be fired up for [6:14] Democrats. You know, we're just here in Michigan, right? I know that this looks like it's a big [6:19] national election. It's a Michigan election. It's a Michigan moment. And everyone is entitled [6:26] to their opinion. And I respect it. I respect how people are going to cast their vote. You know, [6:32] I'm doing so with love and faith to community and to integrity. I am certainly not trying to hurt [6:38] anyone. I know these parties are big and powerful forces. And, you know, I respect that. I, you know, [6:45] I've been a Democrat for a long time. But Abdul was very clear. He said, don't come. I endorsed him. I [6:51] meant it when I endorsed him. I gave him a big hug. I stood there. I was just having a good time. I love [6:57] volunteering on campaigns. And when it really comes down to it, this is how I'm casting my ballot. [7:04] It's going to be a close election. And everyone can take a look at the facts. [7:10] A remarkable about face coming from the once Democratic contender, Haley Stevens, [7:16] in the U.S. Senate race there in Michigan, now throwing her support no longer behind the [7:23] Democratic nominee, Abdel El Saeed, but instead now throwing her support and making that announcement [7:30] very clear outside that church, her support for the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers. She said she [7:36] woke up this morning and decided to go to church. She then made her announcement there, giving Mike [7:43] Rogers a heads up that she would be throwing her support behind him. There you see pictures now [7:48] of them inside that church. You know, she was standing firm, but perhaps also trying to convey that [7:54] she felt hurt. She said she's endorsing Mike Rogers. She also is experiencing a divided household. She [8:03] says her mom voted for Rogers, her dad for Abdul El Saeed. She says she wasn't welcome any longer [8:11] in the El Saeed campaign, even after, she says, her defeat in the primaries against him. She gave him a hug, [8:18] said she was going to continue to campaign for him, but she says that she was no longer welcome [8:23] at his campaign events. She said she was even booed off the stage by Democrats, [8:29] while she underscores she's going to still give 90 percent of her vote to Democrats in this Senate [8:36] race. She is throwing her support behind the Republican, Mike Rogers. Let's talk to Nia Malika [8:41] Henderson, CNN senior, political analyst. Nia, I mean, this is a seismic earthquake taking place in [8:49] this U.S. Senate race there out of Michigan, already Holocaust tested, meaning, you know, [8:54] a real horse race between Mike Rogers and El Saeed, you know, Abdul El Saeed. And now you've got [9:01] a Democrat, you know, high profile in this overall U.S. Senate race saying she no longer supports [9:09] the Democrat, but instead the Republican. How do you see this? Well, in some ways, this isn't that [9:17] surprising that it came to this. You saw the back and forth between these two campaigns over the last [9:24] couple of days. And El Saeed finally sort of fed up with Haley Stevens antics, essentially says, [9:32] you know, you have no place in my campaign. This is going to be water cooler conversation [9:38] in Washington, probably in some places in Michigan and Detroit as well, because it's so [9:44] bonkers. You know, it was very chaotic to watch that press conference, some of which I saw, [9:51] some of which I didn't. But my phone was kind of blowing up with, you know, what's going on with [9:55] Haley Stevens in Michigan? Can you believe it? I got some Michigan friends. And so in the end, [10:01] I don't actually think this will matter very much. What I'm hearing is that Haley Stevens sort of [10:07] approach to this is actually backfiring, right? It's actually making people question her, [10:13] question her commitment to a Democratic Senate, question her commitment to Democratic Party [10:18] values. And you saw there in these sort of awkward exchanges where Mike Rogers is being asked a [10:25] question about DEI and, you know, attacks on DEI. And he says, oh, there are no attacks on DEI. [10:30] Well, listen, ask any black woman about the attacks on DEI and the ways in which the attacks [10:37] on DEI have affected black women's unemployment levels. And yet, Mike Rogers, they're also talking [10:45] about the heat that's being spread. Well, Mike Rogers, what about the president spreading [10:50] Islamophobia and suggesting that El Sayed is a dangerous figure? [10:56] Right. And that question was asked to Haley Stevens. Wait a minute. I mean, you know, [11:00] El Sayed has had the incoming of Islamophobia. And, you know, here you are talking about ending the [11:08] hate. I mean, it's very confusing messaging because we didn't hear from Haley Stevens spelling out [11:14] justifications for now throwing her support behind Mike Rogers, that suddenly they see eye to eye on [11:20] certain policies. Does this not come across more as, well, I'm disappointed that I'm not on the stage [11:27] or part of the campaigning. And so I'm getting back at you. I'm no longer happy, you know, with [11:33] supporting you. And this is like revenge. I mean, am I am I truncating it down to, you know, [11:41] just minuscule, you know, matters here? Or is that significant? [11:47] Oh, that's significant. The phrase sore loser comes to mind. You know, watching the press conference, [11:52] it just seemed like sort of sudden rash and emotional, right? That so, so very reactive [11:58] to to everything that was happening. You know, I don't think she's thinking very clearly about her [12:05] future in the Democratic Party. Maybe she doesn't have a future in the Democratic Party at this point. [12:10] But Democratic leaders have been talking to her saying sort of stand down from this. It's a very [12:16] lonely road that she's on. And I don't think it makes makes much sense outside of the context that [12:23] you just mentioned, right? That it was a tough contest, that she basically is having problems [12:28] dealing with the reality that she lost that primary and that she is not going to be a senator, [12:34] that possibly somebody else who challenged her is going to be a senator in all likelihood. And again, [12:41] I just don't think average voters are going to say, oh, look at what Haley Stevens is doing. [12:46] And now they're going to do the same thing. She, I think, has always imagined herself as being able [12:52] to sort of deliver and represent a block of voters, Jewish voters, as well as Black voters. [12:58] I don't think she represents those block of voters as much as she thinks that she does. I think in so [13:05] many ways, Haley Stevens is irrelevant. She just doesn't quite know it yet. [13:11] Oh, OK. Neha Malika, thank you so much. Hold tight. Let me go to Brian Todd. He was there at that [13:17] church, perfecting church there on Nevada Avenue, right? In Detroit there. I mean, [13:25] is this being interpreted as sour grapes or is this being interpreted as something that can truly [13:33] swing Michigan voters there into a certain direction and change the outcome potentially [13:41] of this U.S. Senate race in Michigan? Those are two really good questions, [13:47] Frederica. I think by any measure you can say that there is some real upheaval that has been [13:52] triggered by this event. Sour grapes, not clear. But I can tell you this, Haley Stevens, when I was [13:58] questioning her as she walked out and several times during this gaggle here, she said more than once [14:04] that she felt that she was not welcome, that Abdul Al-Sayed, in her words, made it clear more than once [14:11] that she was not welcome to campaign with him. She did say that she, you know, she slept on it last night. [14:17] She woke up this morning and made the decision to do this. I did speak to someone on background [14:22] with the Rogers campaign who told me that yesterday when Abdul Al-Sayed said, and this was my question [14:30] to him when I asked him if he was concerned that Haley Stevens was harming the Democratic ticket, [14:35] he said, I don't think any of this really matters. That was part of his answer to that question. [14:40] Well, a Rogers campaign source told me that when Haley Stevens heard him say that, that this doesn't [14:46] really matter, that that pretty much pushed her over the edge. And that is basically one of the [14:51] things that led to what you just saw here today. Just an incredibly dramatic moment here when she [14:57] talked about why she is now endorsing Mike Rogers for Senate. She did say that, you know, when you see [15:03] hate being, and this is her word, this is her phrasing, when you see hate being spread around, [15:08] and she referenced Abdul Al-Sayed's ties to Hassan Piker. She said, she talked about those things. [15:16] Mike Rogers talked about, you know, anti-Semitism and hate. But they both pointed out that this is [15:21] not an anti-Muslim move. They are just, you know, Haley Stevens saying that she is just very, [15:27] very concerned about Abdul Al-Sayed's, you know, his actions and his words, and probably the fact that [15:34] it took him a while until yesterday to say that he disagreed with the contents of that very [15:38] controversial ad. So a lot of drama in the last couple of days leading up to this moment. [15:44] And clearly there's going to be more drama ahead for the Democratic Party here in Michigan. [15:47] Frederica? Right. And there are still a lot of questions that still need to be answered because [15:51] even, you know, there were a lot of interesting inferences being made in just the language that [15:57] both Mike Rogers and Haley Stevens would use. I mean, she, you know, kept talking and making reference to [16:04] you know, hate and wanting to disassociate oneself from that. And then saying, I'm standing with a [16:11] guy named Mike Rogers. I'm not really sure what that meant either, but it would be nice to hear [16:18] what she meant, you know, by saying something like that. And, and that she said she, you know, [16:28] had been thinking about it and it just kind of came to her and decided she wanted to go to church [16:33] today. I mean, there's an incredible, I guess, thread of decision making that had to have [16:40] happened here. And I don't know if she really expounded on all of that and what she really [16:45] meant by some of these inferences. Right, Frederica. She didn't expound on some of that. And, [16:52] you know, it remains to be seen whether or how much she thought out what the consequences of this [16:57] are going to be now. What is the blowback going to be within the Democratic Party here in Michigan [17:02] and nationally? A lot of that will depend, of course, on what happens on Tuesday. [17:07] She did keep saying during this press event here that, you know, it's just one vote. I have just [17:12] one vote, but obviously it's more than one vote. Her endorsement of Mike Rogers now is just a pivotal, [17:18] dramatic turn here. And, you know, again, we're going to see, of course, how Abdul Al-Sayed reacts to [17:26] this, how voters react to this. We're going to try to get some of that reaction in the coming hours [17:30] here. That's going to be, the next couple of days are going to be very interesting here, [17:33] Frederica, no matter what your position is, no matter what your political... It was already going to be a [17:36] bit interesting, right? It was already going to be a little something the next couple of days. Now [17:40] it's a whole lot of something. So did she, you know, make any reference to whether she's going to [17:45] actually campaign with Mike Rogers? Are we going to be seeing her more out on the campaign trail for the [17:50] next two days before Election Day? Good question. I did not hear any references to that, and I'm not sure she was [17:56] asked that. But we'll, again, we're going to be asking her people and Mike Rogers' people about [18:02] that as well. But, you know, again, what was interesting here just moments ago, I don't know [18:07] whether that part of it, the network was taking live or not, but this thing abruptly ended when [18:13] some hecklers behind us yelled, Haley Stevens is a traitor. Then they just decided to get everything, [18:18] you know, just everyone out of here, break down this whole thing and get them into their cars. [18:23] So, you know, that was kind of a symbolic moment, if you will, about just kind of the upheaval [18:29] that this moment is creating. Right. Something tells me that's just the beginning. Yeah, [18:33] we could hear the heckling, couldn't tell what was said, but you were there. So I'm glad to now hear, [18:38] you know, it deciphered of what was being yelled at and why it ended so abruptly. Brian Todd, [18:43] we're going to get back with you. Thank you so much. On the phone with us right now is CNN chief [18:47] congressional correspondent Manu Raju. Manu, wow. I mean, I don't think anybody expected this one. We [18:53] knew that there were some growing tension involving Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, [18:59] but I don't think anyone, you know, was able to anticipate that she'd be throwing her support [19:05] behind a Mike Rogers in the fashion that happened today. Yeah, an absolute stunner. And I can just [19:12] tell you, Democrats are furious about this because obviously this is not what they want to be talking [19:17] about 48 hours before election day to see this go south to the point of seeing Abdul El-Sayed's [19:24] primary rival backing Mike Rogers has caused enormous consternation within the ranks, including [19:30] among her own staff. I'm told from a democratic source that in fact, many of Haley Stevens' staff [19:37] are quitting and quit in the aftermath of this announcement. And we do expect that to be [19:42] announced publicly here in just a matter of minutes. But I'm told that her longtime chief of [19:48] staff, Justin German quit today in the aftermath of this shock endorsement of Mike Rogers, also Logan [19:56] Bash, her comms director quitting as well. I've been told that there are other staff who are quitting [20:03] her office as well. Of course, she only has a couple of months left in her tenure, having lost both the [20:11] Senate bid. And that means that she's no longer going to be a member of the House as well. But she has [20:15] left the quitting of the staff members. It shows the, it may be symbolic of sorts, but it shows [20:23] the frustration and the anger that really exists within democratic circles. You know, they're trying to reach [20:30] out to democratic sources about the impact that they think this may have on this race. It is really [20:36] uncertain at this point. You know, the polls have showed that about roughly about 17% of voters have [20:44] not yet made up their mind. A large majority of the vote population within Michigan, according to public [20:50] polling, suggests that they have made up their mind. But there's still a sizable number of voters who [20:55] are on the fence. Does this sway them one way or the other? Does it outweigh their larger concerns [21:01] about the affordability, the president's handling of the economy, things that may play into Bill [21:09] El-Sayed's favor? That's still uncertain at this point. But it's obviously a thing that the Democrats [21:17] certainly don't want to be involved in the intra-party war that they thought they had resolved [21:21] back when his primary was done in August. And having this in the final days of the campaign [21:26] is just an unwelcome distraction for Abdul El-Sayed at this critical moment.