DETROIT — Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper Sunday night about her last-minute choice to revoke her support for Democratic Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed and back GOP candidate Mike Rogers in the consequential race.Stevens said she was endorsing Rogers after appearing with the GOP candidate at a church in Detroit on Sunday morning, following recent tensions between her and El-Sayed, her former opponent in the Democratic primary.Her move stunned the political world — including Stevens’ friends, colleagues and even her own congressional staffers, most of whom found out about her decision on social media and promptly quit, according to a statement from her chief of staff and people familiar with the matter.As recently as Saturday night, the prospect of Stevens endorsing the Republican had seemed implausible.Stevens issued a statement praising El-Sayed for saying he disagreed with a controversial advertisement that blamed the high cost of living in Michigan on the United States’ aid to Israel. Despite a week of speculation about her withdrawing an endorsement for El-Sayed, her primary rival, she repeatedly said that she would do no such thing.When staffers reached out last week to urge her not to endorse Rogers, Stevens replied in a text message, according to a person who saw the message: “Omg why would you think I would do that??!!”As recently as midnight Saturday, she told a key ally that she was sticking with El-Sayed. Then on Sunday morning, things changed.Stevens said “nothing with me changed” despite her choice to reverse her endorsement less than 48 hours from election day. “I would just say that, you know, I had some time to, you know, think,” Stevens told Cooper. “I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and focused on what was in my heart, and that’s that.”The Michigan Democrat said she is under “transition” when asked about the resignation of her congressional chief of staff and others following her Rogers endorsement.“These are great individuals who, you know, I care a lot about,” she said, adding “they’re free to share their views on this.” Stevens’ former chief of staff, Justin German, said earlier her congressional team was “shocked and heartbroken” by the endorsement.On whether she’ll change her mind: Stevens said she hasn’t yet cast her ballot — but she’s “rock solid” in her choice to back Rogers. “I’m an independent woman, I made my decision,” she said, adding “I still love my party a whole lot.”Stevens refused to say what inspired her endorsement reversal.“I changed my mind. (El-Sayed) said, ‘Hey, I don’t need your endorsement.’ That’s fine. Why the anger? Why the frustration?” she said, sidestepping questions about what prompted the sudden about-face.“I hope to see more kindness in the Democratic Party and for all of us to just accept when somebody has a disagreement,” she added.Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell expressed concern for Stevens after her tense interview with CNN.“That was one of the most painful interviews I have ever watched,” Dingell told Cooper of her fellow Michigan congresswoman. “I have been worried about her all last week. She’s a human being. I have had multiple conversations with her. I’m far from being the only one that has.”Dingell, who said “it has been a very difficult day,” said she thought Stevens’ reversal to back Rogers is “backfiring.”“Abdul has raised more money today, more than $1 million, talking to different people that have been at different polls,” she said, adding, “The people in the Black community are really angry about who speaks for them, that they’re not going to have other people speak for them by the end of the day.”Dingell previously advised Stevens to stay away from El-Sayed’s events amid their deepening rift.
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