Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a last-minute appeal to Congresswoman Haley Stevens to derail her from turning her back on her party, only to be backstabbed days later.
The behind-the-scenes 25-minute phone call, revealed by Politico, shows how Democrats scrambled to prevent a damaging split in the party just days before the high-stakes Michigan Senate election.
Ocasio-Cortez, one of Abdul El-Sayed‘s most beloved supporters, reportedly called Stevens after concerns emerged that she could follow her fiancé, Jason Turkish, in backing Republican Mike Rogers.
The New York progressive had been actively campaigning alongside El-Sayed in Michigan, throwing her support behind the progressive candidate after he defeated Stevens in the Democratic primary.
According to Politico, the conversation on October 28 ended on positive terms, with Stevens assuring the progressive New York congresswoman that she was ‘still on the team.’
The pair then exchanged a series of friendly text messages.
‘[T]hank you so much for talking to me and hearing me,’ Stevens texted AOC. ‘It means the world. Now back to the productive stuff.’
Ocasio-Cortez replied: ‘You really did and thank you for talking to me too. 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.’
The race had been complicated by divisions within the Democratic Party, including criticism from former Democratic primary rival Haley Stevens, who stunned party leaders by endorsing Rogers just two days before Election Day
AOC and Stevens had a 25-minute phone call that ended on positive terms, with Stevens assuring the progressive New York congresswoman that she was ‘still on the team,’ through text
Then came Sunday morning, when Stevens stunned Democrats by appearing alongside Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit and announcing she was endorsing the Republican over El-Sayed.
In an interview with Politico, on October 26, Stevens had complained about Ocasio-Cortez holding a campaign event in Pontiac, Michigan, which falls inside Stevens’ district, without inviting her.
‘Nobody wants the Democratic Party to feel like an exclusive club,’ Stevens said. ‘It’s starting to feel like AOC comes in and it’s exclusive.’
She also complained that Ocasio-Cortez had failed to respond to a text message she sent the previous year.
The move came despite her assurances to senior Democrats that she would remain behind the party’s nominee.
Stevens had even been expected to attend a church service with El-Sayed and Democratic Representative James Clyburn in what was supposed to be a show of unity ahead of Election Day.
Instead, she appeared with Rogers, who welcomed her endorsement.
The extraordinary reversal followed weeks of tension between Stevens and El-Sayed, with disagreements over Israel and Iran.
Stevens had criticized El-Sayed for his comments about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and his response when asked whether Iran or Israel posed a greater threat to the United States.
She also demanded that he condemn an outside group’s advertisement linking American support for Israel to rising grocery prices, which she described as antisemitic.
Stevens further called on him to apologize for his own remarks about Israel and to take down a campaign advertisement featuring conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
She also objected to his association with controversial progressive streamer Hasan Piker, who’s made controversial remarks in the past about Israel.
El-Sayed’s campaign allegedly had asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining campaign events, arguing that the public feud was becoming a distraction.
The fallout from Sunday’s announcement was immediate, with members of Stevens’ congressional staff resigning in protest.
But President Donald Trump celebrated the endorsement and said he would love to see Stevens join the Republican Party at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday.
‘I don’t know Haley. I’ve never met Haley. But Haley said what few people were willing to say. I’d love her to join the Republican Party, actually.’
The Daily Mail reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s team for comment.
