Haley Stevens says decision to withdraw support for El-Sayed ‘was not made for me by anyone else’

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) called it “sexism” Monday to suggest her fiancé was behind her shock decision to withdraw support for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate midterm election. 

Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democratic Senate primary to El-Sayed in August, was adamant that the decision to buck her party and endorse Republican Mike Rogers in the key race “was not made for me by anyone else.” 

“My decision to withdraw my endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed and support Mike Rogers has angered many Democrats. I understand why. But it was not impulsive, and it was not made for me by anyone else. It was a decision of conscience,” the congresswoman wrote in a lengthy X post. 

“Some critics have also dragged my fiancé into this, suggesting he or others must have made my decision for me,”  Stevens continued. “Think about what that says. A woman can serve in Congress, run statewide, and fight for her convictions, and still be told that when she makes a choice people dislike, someone else must be pulling the strings.

“That is sexism dressed up as political analysis.” 

Jason Turkish, a Jewish Democrat, disability rights advocate and Stevens’ fiancé, threw his support behind Rogers last week – arguing that El-Sayed’s rhetoric is putting Jews in danger. 

At the time, Stevens was still backing El-Sayed and had sought to appear alongside the Democratic Senate hopeful at a campaign event. 

However, Stevens claims she was told she was “no longer welcome” on the campaign trail with El-Sayed after she asked the candidate to disavow an antisemitic campaign ad and rhetoric from lefty streamer Hasan Piker and Tucker Carlson.

“My fiancé has his own views. I have mine. I made this decision, and I am proud of it,” she wrote. “Do not question my independence simply because you disagree with my conclusion.” 

Stevens explained that once she concluded El-Sayed was “not fit to serve,” she decided to back Rogers “with the hope that he can serve in the tradition of John McCain: a senator willing to put country before party and stand up to his own side when conscience requires it.” 

The Democratic backlash to the endorsement was shocking to Stevens. 

“Instead of asking why a lifelong Democrat reached this point, some leaders rushed to condemn me, question my motives, and push me out,” she wrote. “That response reveals something deeply troubling about what is missing in today’s Democratic Party. 

“We cannot preach inclusion while punishing dissent. We cannot promise to heal a divided country if we cannot tolerate disagreement among ourselves. And we cannot build a lasting majority by making Americans feel their concerns are unwelcome.”

Stevens signaled that she intends to remain a Democrat and “help lead” an effort to build “a stronger, more welcoming, more courageous Democratic Party.”