Rep. Dingell Says Haley Stevens Told Her at Midnight the Rogers Endorsement Was 'Not True,' Five Hours Before She Stood Beside Him
Fox News reports that Stevens denied the rumor to a fellow Michigan Democrat, then appeared with Mike Rogers at a Detroit church. El-Sayed's campaign says it raised $1.2 million in the four hours after the endorsement.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, says Rep. Haley Stevens told her at midnight Saturday that reports of a Rogers endorsement were untrue. Five hours later Stevens was standing next to Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers at a Detroit church, Fox News reports.
What Dingell said. "Haley Stevens told me at midnight last night this was all a rumor and was not true," Dingell told Fox 2 Detroit on Sunday night. "It's very hard," she added. She said Stevens texted her at 7:45 a.m. to say she was watching Dingell on MS NOW, and that she is "very concerned" and "upset."
What led up to it. Fox says the church event was meant to unify Democrats behind nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who beat Stevens in the August primary. Instead his campaign told her to stay away. Stevens had asked El-Sayed to condemn an outside group's ad that she said blamed Israel for high grocery prices. Her fiance, Jason Turkish, a Democratic donor, said earlier in the week he would vote for Rogers. Stevens later said in a video, "I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," and endorsed Rogers.
Rogers' account. He told Fox 2 that Stevens called that morning and asked, "Hey, I heard you're going to church, you want some company?" He said El-Sayed "discarded" her and has been "rude" to many in the Black community, which he said he was relaying from what others told him. Stevens' mother, Maria Marcotte, told Reuters her daughter was worried about rhetoric she believed frightened constituents.
The money. El-Sayed's campaign says it raised $1.2 million in the four hours after the endorsement, its second-best fundraising day since the primary. Fox News Power Rankings rates the race a Toss Up. Republicans hold the Senate 53 to 47.
What to keep in mind. Dingell's account of the midnight conversation is hers alone, and we did not see a response from Stevens in the Fox report. The fundraising figure comes from El-Sayed's campaign. Michigan votes Tuesday.