Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) said it was “sad” and “painful to watch” fellow Michigan Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens defend her decision to endorse Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democrat Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, in back-to-back interviews on CNN with Anderson Cooper on Sunday.
Stevens appeared on the program first to explain her endorsement of Rogers. Dingell followed immediately after.
“First of all, I’m going to say I’m not sure I would have done this if I had known she was going to be on immediately before me. That was one of the most painful interviews I’ve ever watched. I have been worried about her all last week. She’s a human being. I’ve had multiple conversations with her. I’m far from being the only one that has,” Dingell said, according to the Hill.
Dingell said she worried the endorsement fight was distracting from issues that matter more to Michigan voters.
“I’m very concerned that this has all become a distraction that the people of Michigan do care about what’s happening to the cost of the groceries, they’re worried about whether they can make their mortgage payments, fill their cars with gas,” she said, adding she was “sick of ads on all sides.”
“I can’t tell you how sad I am… It was just painful to watch,” Dingell said of Stevens’ interview.
She argued the endorsement was hurting Rogers’ campaign rather than helping it. “I think that this is backfiring. Abdul has raised more money today, more than a million dollars. Talking to different people that have been at different polls, there have been more walk-ins at the end of the day, lines on the last day of early voting. People in the black community are really angry about who speaks for them. They’re not gonna have other people speak for them,” Dingell said.
“By the end of the day, I thought Abdul was gonna win, but I’ve felt a shift just being out, as I always am, this afternoon, so I think this race is going to be close,” she added.
Rogers and Trump praise Stevens
Rogers welcomed Stevens’ endorsement in a social media post. “Congresswoman Stevens showed immense courage in joining our campaign and standing up against hate today. Her never-ending commitment to put Michigan first deserves the highest praise, but instead, the media is doing what it always does — forcing division to get views. If you believe we have a state to save, join Congresswoman Stevens and me,” he wrote.
President Donald Trump also praised Stevens on Truth Social. “Wow, this is BIG! Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a Highly Respected Democrat, who narrowly lost in the Primary to Abdul Mohamed El-Sayed, and who has been breathlessly wined and dined by the Dumocrats to help in their Michigan Campaign for the United States Senate against Mike Rogers, has just ENDORSED Mike Rogers for Senate!” he wrote.
“Her following is huge, and the level of respect from the People of Michigan, especially our African American and Jewish populations, is virtually unparalleled. Haley said what few people are willing to say. She showed great and almost unprecedented loyalty to the Great People of Michigan with what she did. It’s a thing called bravery, and few people have it like just displayed by Congresswoman Haley Stevens!” Trump wrote.
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