Democratic strategist James Carville had harsh words for former Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Haley Stevens after she endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over her own party’s nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, on Sunday.
“Your political career is over,” Carville said in a video posted Sunday. “If you think that these Republicans are going to treat you as anything other than what they view you as – and that is, let me just break the news to you – a used condom.”
Carville went further, saying, “The Democrats don’t even think you’re worth a used condom, but that’s about where you are. You made your bed, sleep in it.” He suggested Stevens consider opening a cheeseburger restaurant with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat known for resisting pressure from the party’s further-left flank.
A fast-breaking split
Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers caught much of the political world off guard. In a video explaining her decision, she said El-Sayed’s campaign had told her she was no longer welcome.
“Hey Michigan, as you may have seen, our Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Abdul, said that I was no longer welcome in his campaign and that I should stay away, and he’s right. That’s why I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate today,” Stevens said.
She added: “I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign. I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses. A dear friend of mine earlier today was saying that education is on the ballot and she is absolutely right. What our students see, what our children see, and who we are as Michiganders is not hate. And is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now.”
How the rift developed
The split between Stevens and El-Sayed had been building for days after what had initially been a show of unity following their primary contest. El-Sayed’s campaign reportedly asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining events, according to the New York Times and Politico, after Stevens pressed him to disavow an anti-Israel advertisement.
Earlier in the week, Stevens’ fiancé, who is Jewish, said he intended to vote for Rogers instead.
