Washington — Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said Rep. Haley Stevens’ stunning endorsement of GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers over Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed is having the opposite effect of what she intended.
“You’re seeing a backlash,” Dingell said in an interview on “The Takeout with Major Garrett” on Monday. “It’s galvanizing many communities.”
El-Sayed’s campaign says it raised more than $2.4 million on Sunday, the same day that Stevens — his former Democratic primary rival — came out in support of Rogers.
“I’ve had Black pastors talk to me and say, ‘Who said she represented us?’ There’s a lot of anger in how she did what she did yesterday,” Dingell said.
The endorsement came after days of hostility between El-Sayed and Stevens, who were expected to appear together on Sunday before tensions boiled over.
El-Sayed and the more moderate Stevens offered starkly differing visions for the future of the party during the primary, and although Stevens endorsed El-Sayed after he won the nomination, the two largely haven’t campaigned alongside each other.
The attempt at Democratic unity fell flat after Stevens demanded Friday that El-Sayed — a vehement critic of U.S. aid to Israel — apologize for his past remarks about Israel and condemn an ad from an outside PAC that she said was antisemitic. (El-Sayed’s campaign said last week it was not affiliated “in any way” with the ad.)
After Stevens’ criticism on Friday, El-Sayed said in his own statement that she “seems intent on relitigating a primary that ended three months ago.” He later asked Stevens not to attend the Sunday campaign event.
Dingell, an influential member of Michigan’s congressional delegation, has suggested she also encouraged Stevens not to attend the unity event, telling NPR she told Stevens “this has become a distraction.”
On Sunday morning, Stevens instead appeared at church alongside Rogers before offering her endorsement, which drew outrage from Democrats. She told reporters that she initially “stood with my party” but was “booed off the stage.”
Dingell told CBS News she’s “tired of the drama” and she’s “worried” about Stevens.
“As this day has gone on, I’m probably getting angrier,” she said. “I can’t believe we are where we are. But I’m not going to let that emotion win.”
But when asked whether there will be repercussions against Stevens within the House Democratic Caucus, Dingell said she’s told everyone to “please don’t make more drama, give it more attention.”
“We need to focus on winning tomorrow, and that’s where our focus needs to be,” she said.
