With 48 hours to go before the most consequential midterm election in a generation, Haley Stevens did the unthinkable. She crossed party lines and endorsed Republican Mike Rogers. Not surprisingly, Democrats were rightly incensed.
There is an unwritten rule in politics: you don't screw your own party's nominee on the eve of an election; not unless you have another career lined up. The way things stand now, Stevens would have a hard time getting elected dog catcher. There was simply no excuse for what she did. None.
Sore loser doesn't begin to describe Stevens. Indeed, her campaign staff was so blindsided by the announcement that they resigned en masse. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. said in a statement that Stevens is "not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future." If there was a trophy for committing political suicide, it would already be on Stevens mantle.
Just so we're clear: I, too, am concerned about the rise in anti-semitism within the Democratic Party. The protests against Jewish students and faculty on college campuses a couple of years ago, many by Islamic extremists that were funded by Hamas, were disgraceful. Abdul El-Sayed could've and should've been more forceful in his rejection of what was clearly an offensive ad by Rebellion PAC. But the time to litigate that issue was during the primary. The voters made their choice; it was incumbent upon Stevens to respect it.
By endorsing Rogers, Stevens is embracing the very policies that are hurting millions of her fellow Michiganders, and directly contradicting her tweet from August in which she said Rogers would be a rubber stamp for Trump's "dangerous agenda." How can you square a circle like that? You can't. Because this was never about anti-semitism; it was about a woman who put her ego ahead of what was best for her constituents. And it might very well determine which party controls the Senate in January.
This is the second race in the last few days that has been directly impacted by events that have absolutely nothing to do with the underlying issues that most voters care about. The first was in Alaska, where it's looking more and more like the Peltola campaign may have sabotaged its chances of flipping a red state; and now this one. Unlike the former, Democrats in Michigan appear to be coalescing around El-Sayed. Ironically, by pulling this stunt, Stevens has managed to turn her opponent into a sympathetic figure, which I'm guessing is the last thing the Rogers campaign wanted to happen.
Tuesday should be an interesting day. The House will almost certainly flip; the Senate may not be decided until Thanksgiving, especially if Alaska goes to a run off.
Buckle up, people.
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