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Haley Stevens gave her first interview since she endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers on Sunday, telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper she felt like there was a “weight off my shoulders.”
During their 15-minute interview, Cooper repeatedly asked Stevens why she changed her mind after she reportedly told her colleague Rep. Debbie Dingell in a phone conversation Saturday night that she was not going to endorse Rogers.
Stevens confirmed the conversation took place but never gave Cooper a direct answer about what changed her mind. She told him, “That’s just where I landed with this. I woke up this morning clear-eyed, fresh and, you know, focused on what was in my heart, and that’s that.”
Asked again what changed her mind, Stevens replied, “I was there and just, you know, alone with my thoughts. I was writing things out, and look, this level of anger and the things that we are seeing — look, we all want Democrats to win. I’m a really proud Democrat. And by the way, Abdul’s got every other Democrat with him. He just doesn’t have me and a few other people who love this party.”
“Nothing with me changed, Anderson,” said Stevens, who had previously endorsed El-Sayed.
She cited El-Sayed’s alliance with left-wing streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker and a controversial ad from Rebellion PAC that tied the war in Gaza to increased costs at home. It shows a couple in a grocery store shopping for food for their children, and the woman instructs her husband to put the eggs back, saying, “We have to set that $7 aside for killing Palestinians.” El-Sayed said his campaign had nothing to do with the ad.
“That ad was very painful,” Stevens said. “There are so many Democrats who want to vote for our Democratic nominee, and they’re just being told, ‘Hey, this is a party you don’t belong in, or this is a campaign you don’t belong in.'”
Stevens told Cooper she “absolutely” wants Democrats to take control of the Senate after Election Day and that it’s essential for Democrats to retain the seat in Michigan to take control of the Senate.
Cooper pointed out that in August, Stevens had posted on social media that Rogers would be “another rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda. We can’t afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November.” He asked Stevens, “Why is it OK now … why can you afford to give MAGA another Senate seat in November?”
Stevens replied, “Well, why is it OK to have the Democratic Party and a top nominee injecting … this type of anger and lack of kindness?”
Cooper asked if she was referring to being disinvited from a planned joint appearance with El-Sayed Sunday.
“Anderson, I was just trying to help this campaign and stand up for people who feel hurt,” Stevens replied.
Cooper interviewed Dingell immediately following Stevens, and Dingell described Stevens’ appearance as “one of the most painful interviews I have ever watched.”
“I’m very concerned that this has all become a distraction,” Dingell said.
