Anderson Cooper wanted to know what had changed overnight for Rep. Haley Stevens. The Michigan Democrat had endorsed Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate two days before Election Day. That evening, November 1, she joined Cooper live on CNN.
Stevens had backed Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed after he defeated her in the August primary. On Sunday morning, she attended a service with Rogers at Detroit’s Perfecting Church and spoke to reporters alongside him afterward.
When Cooper asked about departures from her congressional staff, Stevens said her office was already packed up as she prepared to leave the House. Justin German, her chief of staff for eight years, said he and several colleagues had resigned, according to Axios.
During the nearly 15-minute conversation, Stevens said she had yet to cast her ballot. When Cooper asked whether she might change her mind again, she said her choice was firm and that she still wanted Democrats to win control of the Senate.
Cooper Asks What Changed After Stevens Spoke With Debbie Dingell
Cooper opened with Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell’s account of a phone call. Dingell said Stevens had assured her around midnight that she would not endorse Rogers. Stevens questioned whether they had spoken that late and said she had spent part of the evening alone, writing out her thoughts.
Stevens said El-Sayed had grown angrier and had made clear she was unwelcome at his campaign events. She also cited an outside group’s ad linking U.S. aid to Israel with the cost of living in Michigan. El-Sayed had publicly criticized the ad. Cooper pressed her on what had changed since the call.
He also read back an August post in which Stevens had warned that Rogers would support President Donald Trump’s agenda. Asked why she could now support giving Republicans another Senate seat, Stevens returned to how she felt El-Sayed had treated her.
As the two spoke over each other, Stevens suggested Cooper sounded upset with her. He told her, “You’re not really answering any of my questions, so it’s somewhat frustrating,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
Stevens Breaks a Seven-Second Silence With a Question of Her Own
Later, Stevens accused Cooper of editorializing when he suggested Saturday night had been a turning point for her. He observed that as recently as the previous day, she had still wanted to appear with El-Sayed at a campaign event. Seven seconds passed before she replied, according to Mediaite.
“Was that a question, Anderson?” Stevens asked. Cooper said he had paused to give her room to respond. After another brief silence, she turned to the Michigan voters who had already cast their ballots.
Debbie Dingell Says the Interview Was Painful to Watch
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Dingell was Cooper’s next guest. She called the exchange one of the most painful interviews she had watched and said she might have declined to appear had she known she would follow Stevens directly.
Dingell said she had spoken with her colleague several times and had been worried about her all week. She also expressed concern that the dispute had become a distraction in the final days of the election.
Cooper said he had been told that CNN had notified Dingell’s team she would follow Stevens. Dingell said she had been out all day and thought that might explain why word had reached her only in the last hour.