State Rep Laurie Pohutsky talks about 'slap in the face' by Haley Stevens with endorsement of Rogers

Political twist, just two days before voters in Michigan head to the polls, Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who has pretty much stayed, you know. Committed to her party, now deciding to endorse Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Sparking a lot of backlash today with her own party as well. And I want to bring in Democratic State Representative Lori Pohutsky, who has shared constituents with Stevens and now deciding to share her thoughts on this endorsement. Lori, is this pretty much betrayal? It is, I think understandably a lot of people are angry, but I also think that people are committed to electing Abdul Al-Sayed as our next senator. And this has created a lot of motivation for people to make sure that they are staying strong and continuing to work for these next couple of days. Representative Lori, when you first heard about this endorsement, what was your first reaction? I was confused, you know, as you said. Congresswoman Stevens and I shared constituents for a couple of terms there. And I remember during 2022, that election cycle, when Michiganders overwhelmingly supported Prop 3, which enshrined reproductive rights in our state's constitution. And Mike Rogers is somebody who supports a national abortion ban. And I don't think that those two things are congruent. This is This is a slap in the face to her constituents and not at all what they want. My question also is, is there was there any preparations for a party division before this announcement happened or and what does this say about the Democratic Party now? Have you spoken to any other leaders and what their thoughts are? Yeah, I don't think this says anything about the Democratic Party. I think this says something about Haley Stevens. Everyone I have spoken to is in lockstep. We are united against Abdul and Democrats up and down the ballot. I don't know what Haley's thinking was there, and it's frankly none of my concern. We have work to do, and that's what everyone's overwhelming reaction is. Representative Lori, have you spoken to Congresswoman Stevens after this announcement? I have not. I have been out knocking doors and doing the work and that's where my focus is. So I've not spoken to her today. Do you think that there will be a phone call soon or any message to her? Not on my end. I'm going to be busy these next few days. Now talk to me about Michigan voters. What can they expect now that this announcement is out there? Regardless, a lot A lot of them haven't voted yet and Tuesday's a big day and people really need. To go out and vote. Yeah, I mean, so people have been voting since the end of September, whether that was through absentee ballot or over the last week or so during early voting. So we've had a really, really high turnout number. And I don't think that this is going to impact that. It's bizarre. It's causing conversation. But I don't think that this This is going to sway voters one way or the other. So I think that they are going to see the El-Sayed campaign continue doing what they're doing, which is putting the focus on them, not on Haley Stevens, not on Mike Rogers, but about the things that are impacting them most, rising costs, lack of access to health care. I think that's what they can expect. Yeah, certainly a bigger picture, even beyond the abortion rights. What do you believe is most at stake here in Michigan for families when it comes to this U.S. Senate race? Everything is at stake. You know, we are talking about control of the U.S. Senate. We are talking about whether or not we want to elect somebody in Abdul El-Sayed, who is committed to Michiganders and putting Michiganders first, or someone like Mike Rogers, who has shown time and time. So we lost you for a second with the audio, but Representative Lori, with Election Day being just two days away, what is the message you have for undecided voters right here in Michigan that are watching tonight? I think undecided voters just need to decide what future they want for Michigan and for the rest of the country. Do you want to elect somebody like Abdul Al-Sayed, who is going to put Michiganders first and work to lower costs and expand health care access? Or are you going to elect somebody like Mike Rogers, who his loyalty is to himself and Donald Trump and no one else? Certainly a lot to break down with really 48 hours to go. Representative Laurie, we appreciate you for joining us and we'll see what happens come Tuesday. So, yeah, not much time left. Yeah. Thank you very much for having me. Of course. All right. We're going to continue our coverage with all things political. Political plot twist, if you want to call it right here. Fox 2 Detroit Live, a special edition that focuses on Election Day.