In an attempt to inject some energy into her Senate campaign during a recent campaign stop, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., inadvertently created a moment that sparked online mockery.
“I am going to be working on our behalf. I am going to be telling the stories on our behalf. And you better believe Im going to bring it with a little bit of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy and a little bit of stick-it-to-them,” Stevens said.
“Because thats the Michigan way, right?”
MICHIGAN DEM SENATOR THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND CANDIDATE TO REPLACE HIM IN CONTENTIOUS PRIMARY
The remarks, which come just three weeks until Michigans Senate primaries, are raising criticisms that Stevens is not charismatic enough to take on progressive Democratic challenger Abdul El-Sayed.
“Maybe Abdul El-Sayed is winning hearts and minds in liberal Michigan ⦠or maybe hes just running against this?” Brent Scher, editor-in-chief for the Daily Wire, said in a post to X.
In recent weeks, the Michigan primary has drawn national attention as it pits El-Sayed, a candidate pushing the party farther left on issues like healthcare and international affairs, against Stevens, an establishment figure with the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Those lines grew clearer as a third Democratic candidate, Mallory McMorrow, dropped out of the race earlier this month, taking away a third, more middle-of-the-road option.
Its unclear whether El-Sayed or Stevens will benefit more from McMorrows exit.
Despite El-Sayed having drawn criticism for stances such as abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), demanding that the U.S. reconsider its partnership with Israel, and past calls to defund the police, he has mounted a campaign that has gained national attention and momentum among progressives.
While Stevens has largely avoided controversy of her own, her presentation on the campaign trail continues to raise skepticism among critics.
“Is this for real?!” Fox News Political Analyst Lisa Boothe wrote on X.
“I just want to know why, and when, she chose to adopt this fake accent?” Chris Gustafson, the communications director for the Senate Leadership Fund wrote on X. “Stevens ads from 2018 sound like an entirely different person. Make it make sense.”
“Again, national press, you gotta stop calling this a Michigan accent,” he added in another X post. “Its offensive.”
Mario Nawfal, a social media person
