BLUE BETRAYAL

Secret Chaos Before Dem Loser’s MAGA Endorsement Revealed

A desperate failed peace mission preceded Haley Stevens’ stunning election defection.

Rep. Haley Stevens endorsed Donald Trump’s Senate candidate despite a frantic behind-the-scenes intervention by Democratic heavyweights desperate to prevent the betrayal.

Stevens, 43, lost the Democratic Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed, 42, in August but pledged to support him against Republican Mike Rogers, 63, in this week’s midterms.

Then, on Sunday, she made an extraordinary U-turn, coming out in favor of the MAGA candidate.

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The shocking move followed days of increasingly desperate attempts by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other senior Democrats to broker peace and prevent the betrayal, according to multiple accounts of the bitter feud that has consumed Michigan Democrats ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Now it has emerged that Stevens spent Saturday night reassuring influential Democrats she would remain loyal to the party, including Rep. Jamie Raskin, who spoke to her for 25 minutes. “I’m dumbfounded by this turn of events,” Raskin told the Washington Post after her spectacular reversal. “Something doesn’t compute about this whole sequence of events.”

Former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard was equally bewildered, having eaten dinner with Stevens on Friday, when she discussed her ongoing endorsement of El-Sayed before a planned Sunday church appearance intended to reunite warring Democrats.

Stevens subsequently messaged Blanchard with details of the service, including its location, on Saturday and again early Sunday, according to the Post, before backing out. “This is not the Haley I know,” Blanchard said.

Stevens had also complained about being left out of an Ocasio-Cortez campaign appearance in Pontiac, Michigan, within her own district. “It’s starting to feel like AOC comes in and it’s exclusive,” she told Politico’s Playbook last Monday.

Things further deteriorated when Stevens’ fiancé, attorney Jason Turkish, publicly stated last Wednesday that he would support Rogers and accused El-Sayed of failing to adequately address antisemitism.

A friend told the Post that Turkish was lobbying Stevens to back Rogers, despite her private assurances to figures including Chuck Schumer and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Amid fears she might abandon El-Sayed during a CNN appearance, Ocasio-Cortez called Stevens last Wednesday, according to Politico’s Playbook. The New York congresswoman spent 25 minutes apparently persuading her to remain loyal. In messages obtained by Playbook, Stevens thanked her for the intervention and said she believed she had made the right decision. “Sending you a big hug,” Ocasio-Cortez replied.

But the reconciliation attempts apparently fell apart when Stevens demanded that El-Sayed denounce an outside group’s advertisement linking American support for Israel to rising living costs.

DIGGING DEEPER

Dem Loser Roasted After ‘Painful’ Interview on MAGA Support

Ewan Palmer

El-Sayed rejected the ad’s message Saturday but also publicly asked Stevens not to attend his remaining campaign appearances. The snub appeared to crystallize her grievances about being excluded by the Democratic nominee, according to the New York Times.

On Sunday morning, Stevens instead contacted Rogers and offered to attend a different Detroit church with him, a move that reportedly shocked even Rogers’ own campaign. His spokeswoman Abby Ronson told the Post that staff learned of Stevens’ endorsement when she announced it publicly.

Trump later celebrated the defection, praising Stevens for her decision and saying he would welcome her into the Republican Party.

Stevens’ move caused an immediate revolt among her team. Stevens’ chief of staff, Justin German, and other aides resigned, while Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel declared Stevens was no longer a party member. Schumer condemned her decision as “a despicable betrayal.” Some House Democrats were even discussing expelling Stevens from their congressional caucus, Axios reported.

DIGGING DEEPER

Dem Loser Roasted After ‘Painful’ Interview on MAGA Support

Ewan Palmer

Stevens blamed El-Sayed for driving her away by refusing to include her in his campaign, and in an awkward CNN interview Sunday night, she also accused him of actions she considered antisemitic.

El-Sayed dismissed the controversy Sunday and continued campaigning for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Gary Peters.

The Daily Beast has contacted Stevens, El-Sayed, Rogers, and Turkish for comment.

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Tom LatchemLead Global Correspondent

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