After Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens’s stunning reversal in withdrawing her endorsement of Abdul El-Sayed for the state’s midterm Senate race, questions have emerged over her fiance Jason Turkish’s influence on her campaign and career.
CNN reported on Tuesday that after Stevens withdrew her endorsement, anger towards Turkish that had been brewing behind closed doors came to a boil.
“Jason is vaporizing Haley’s future so that he can be a main character in this moment and it is sad to watch her participate in that,” former Stevens advisor Caitlin Legacki wrote on X/Twitter.
“He was an extraordinarily toxic presence, was verbally abusive to staff and had some of the worst political instincts I’ve ever witnessed.”
In late 2025, Stevens decided to take a break from social media, and told her staff that she only wanted to see breaking news or campaign developments.
Turkish, who at the time was just friends with Stevens, would send her social media comments mocking her appearance, her mannerisms, the way she spoke, and her position on Israel, three people who worked on her senate campaign told CNN.
“He would wind her up, and then we’d have to wind her down,” one senior source told CNN.
Notably, the couple announced their engagement months later in the Spring of 2026.
The source told CNN that during the campaign, he “observed a lot of things about the campaign, and I didn’t feel the desire to run to the press about any of them after the primary was over.”
“I also don’t want to get into arguments with unnamed sources because I think it devalues the work of the candidate, who I’m particularly fond of, and the vast, vast majority of her incredibly hardworking and dedicated team,” he added.
Turkish berated, mocked Stevens over endorsement of El-Sayed
This comes after Turkish told reporters last week that he was voting for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers over El-Sayed, just days before Stevens withdrew her endorsement.
Former Michigan Gov. Jim Blanchard told Gongwer News Service that as of last week, Stevens told him she intended to stick with a blue ticket, even as the El-Sayed team was making it increasingly clear that she was not welcome at campaign events.
Blanchard claimed that Turkish was berating Stevens at a dinner they were all at together on Friday.
“The way he was saying it was, ‘Everyone is disappointed in you, they did everything they could to help you and then immediately after you lose the primary, you endorsed him,’” Blanchard told the Michigan outlet.
Blanchard said that he then told Turkish it was because Stevens is a "team player."
“You have to be gracious. Come on.”
He claimed that Turkish responded: “I know, but they’re really disappointed in her.”
Stevens denies external influence on her endorsements
Despite this break in form, Turkish claimed that he still considers himself a Democrat.
“Democratic politics is how I met the love of my life,” Turkish told a Michigan radio station. “I’m just not on board this one time.”
For her part, Stevens has adamantly denied the rumors that Turkish influenced her decision to withdraw her endorsement of El-Sayed two days before the election, and called them “sexism dressed up as political analysis.”
“My fiancé has his own views. I have mine,” she wrote. “I made this decision, and I am proud of it. Do not question my independence simply because you disagree with my conclusion.”
Her reversal caused her to effectively be expelled from the Michigan Democratic Party. Stevens told the Free Press that she’s aware that the move could mark the end of her political career.
“I’m exiting stage left,” she said.