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The question of “what the hell is Haley Stevens doing” remains an active topic of discussion in Michigan and across the country, but at least one theory is gaining traction: Whatever it is, it appears to have something to do with her fiancé, Jason Turkish.
Over the weekend, Stevens, who previously supported Abdul El-Sayed for Senate after losing to him in the August Democratic primary, reversed course and endorsed his opponent, Republican Mike Rogers, after Stevens spent months comparing Rogers to Donald Trump and calling his agenda “extreme” and “corrupt.” It was also just days after Turkish, who is also a Democrat, announced he would vote for Rogers, primarily because of El-Sayed’s criticism of Israel. Stevens had publicly criticized a pro-El-Sayed ad, but by Friday she was telling everyone she spoke to, including the New York Times, that she still planned to vote for him. That same day, Turkish spoke to TMZ, where he said, “I don’t think she’ll support Abdul El-Sayed for very long.” » Turns out he was right. Think about that disastrous Anderson Cooper interview.
Turkish is a 39-year-old lawyer specializing in disability rights. He is also Jewish and active in pro-Israel advocacy. Stevens is not Jewish, but said she plans to convert before her wedding to Turkish next summer. The two announced their engagement in August.
As Stevens’ shocking change occurred over the weekend, speculation about Turkey’s role and its influence on Stevens grew. A former Michigan governor who had dinner with the couple Friday night told the Gongwer News Service that Turkish berated Stevens right in front of him. “He was working it. The way he said it was, ‘Everybody’s disappointed in you,'” Jim Blanchard said.
Elsewhere, people claiming to know Stevens have reported disturbing behavior from Turkish. A self-described friend, Jordan Acker, posted on X that he couldn’t contact Stevens because Turkish had confiscated his phone. (Turkish denied this, saying Haley chose to turn off his phone. He has since made his messages private.) A former staffer also took to Publications like Mother Jones have pointed out that Turk seems “determined to ruin (Stevens’) career.”
More than one observer has compared Stevens and Turkish to another couple, Elizabeth Holmes and Billy Evans, whose portrayal in the documentary You can see everything has been the subject of much discussion in recent weeks. Some of the same people who walked out on the movie asked, “Was she being unfairly mean when she’s actually the victim of a toxic man in her life?” I may now have the same question about Stevens and Turkish. As tempting as it is to wonder whether actress Amanda Seyfried might be available to parachute into Michigan to crack skulls, as with Holmes and Evans, finding out that the male half of a couple is harmful doesn’t actually exonerate the female half. If she doesn’t like the way he treats her, she should definitely dump him, but unfortunately, she might be with him. because he is like that. It’s entirely possible that Stevens and Turkish (and Holmes and Evans) are both sinister and are in fact in sinister cahoots together. From a certain point of view, it’s even a bit romantic.
At least they know each other. And the marriage, moreover, seems to be taking place at full speed. On Monday, a campaign reporter said that on Monday, Stevens sent out save-the-dates in the form of iCloud calendar invitations for his wedding. Nothing like a little wedding planning to take your mind off a professional crisis.
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