Rep. Haley Stevens’ surprise endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race followed a failed peace effort by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Last Wednesday, rumors spread that Stevens would withdraw her endorsement of Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed during a CNN interview, and Politico Playbook reported that Ocasio-Cortez called Stevens and urged her to reconsider, according to a person familiar with the call.
The two talked for 25 minutes, and afterward Stevens told the progressive star she was still on the team. Text messages reviewed by Playbook suggest Ocasio-Cortez thought she had headed off a major defection.
“Thank you so much for talking to me and hearing me,” Stevens wrote. “It means the world. Now back to the productive stuff.”
“You really did and thank you for talking to me too,” Ocasio-Cortez replied. “I’m sorry again and I’m really glad we got to connect and talk and I hope we are able to more. Sending you a big hug.”
Less than a week later, Stevens appeared with Rogers at a Black church in Detroit. She then publicly endorsed the Republican she had once called “corrupt” and a “Trump crony.”
According to Playbook, the break was personal. For weeks, Stevens had been dropping hints about her discomfort with El-Sayed, including praising Rogers’ outreach to Black voters. She also complained about Ocasio-Cortez, who campaigned with El-Sayed down the final stretch.
Stevens told Playbook she wasn’t invited to a recent Ocasio-Cortez event in Pontiac, which is in her own backyard and district. She also complained that Ocasio-Cortez hadn’t answered a text from her since 2025. A person familiar with the matter said Stevens had told Ocasio-Cortez earlier this year that texting wasn’t the best way to reach her.
“Nobody wants the Democratic Party to feel like an exclusive club,” Stevens told Playbook last Monday. “It’s starting to feel like AOC comes in and it’s exclusive.”
In her video endorsing Rogers on Sunday, the first grievance Stevens raised wasn’t a policy difference with El-Sayed. It was that his campaign no longer made her feel welcome.
Before the blowup, she had told Playbook: “I’m not working to create World War III right before the election.”
Stevens did not respond to several requests for comment from Politico Sunday evening.