Democratic strategist James Carville sharply criticized Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., after she endorsed Republican Mike Rogers on Sunday. Speaking on the “Politicon” podcast, he said Stevens had given up her principles for too little and predicted her political career was finished.
Carville argued that the endorsement would leave Stevens with little support from either party. He used a crude comparison to describe how he thought Republicans would regard her, adding that Democrats would be even less sympathetic. “You made your bed, sleep in it,” he said.
Stephen Kent, media director at the Consumer Choice Center, called Carville’s criticism hypocritical. He pointed to comments Carville made about two weeks earlier, when he said he would prefer Republicans to retain a few House seats rather than see Democrats win by the same margin, because he feared democratic socialists would gain too much influence.
Carville had also said he did not want to remain in the same party as streamer Hasan Piker after the election. Kent said that made it inconsistent for Carville to criticize Stevens for making a similar political calculation.
Stevens endorsed Rogers after Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed removed her from a planned unity event. The dispute followed an ad from Rebellion PAC, founded by The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur, that connected U.S. military aid to Israel with rising grocery costs. Stevens called the ad antisemitic and asked El-Sayed to condemn it. El-Sayed, who beat Stevens in the Democratic primary, said his campaign had not made the ad and that he disagreed with it.
Piker criticized Stevens on X, saying she did not speak for Democrats or for Jewish or Black people. He accused her of being focused on Israel and argued that the race should center on affordability, democracy, racialized violence and Michigan’s interests. He also claimed Stevens and Rogers served former President Donald Trump.
Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief of Zeteo News, also attacked Stevens on X, calling her dishonest and criticizing Democratic leaders for backing her. Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg urged Democrats who had supported Stevens to denounce her.
Stevens had not immediately responded to a request for comment.
