Kristoffer Ealy is a political scientist, political analyst, and professor in Southern California. He teaches American Government and political behavior, with a focus on political psychology, voting behavior, and political socialization. Subscribe to his Substack, The Thinking Class with Professor Ealy.
I hate days like this. I already hated writing this article the first time, because the behavior that inspired it was so aggravating I had to put my tablet down twice to keep from launching it across the room. On Saturday, Oct. 31, I finished the piece and emailed it to Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan Demas. I told her it was time-sensitive and suggested she publish it as quickly as possible. There were too many moving parts, and I had a feeling somebody was about to do something spectacularly stupid. Less than twenty-four hours later, Haley Stevens demonstrated that my instincts were working considerably better than her political judgment.
I had also just published When It Comes to Election Day, Expect Fuckery!, warning readers about the nonsense MAGA might pull before Tuesday. I should have known at least one idiot Democrat would volunteer to help distribute the fuckery. I was busy watching Republicans manufacture election conspiracies while Haley Stevens was apparently preparing to open a wholesale distribution center. The woman didn’t merely deliver the fuckery. She brought a folding table, a sign-up sheet, and enough refreshments to accommodate the entire Republican National Committee.
Now I have to rewrite an article that its own subject made obsolete before publication. Political scientists spend decades trying to anticipate political behavior. Nobody warned me that some politicians consider an editorial deadline a personal challenge.
A few months ago, after Jasmine Crockett lost the Texas Democratic Senate primary to James Talarico, I heard plenty of complaints about her response. Critics accused her of withholding a meaningful endorsement, called her selfish, questioned her political loyalty, and started writing her obituary while the primary ballots were still cooling off. I heard the complaints, but I stayed out of it. Crockett wasn’t obligated to pretend she enjoyed losing, and I didn’t particularly need another Democratic family argument occupying the headlines.
I even gave Crockett a serious side-eye when she appeared at an Usher and Chris Brown concert in September to present Brown with a Congressional Record recognition. Chris Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in 2009, and I remember thinking, Jasmine, you’re smarter than this. Would you have made that appearance if you had won the Senate nomination? Was there some shortage of entertainers available for congressional recognition who hadn’t assaulted their girlfriends? I wasn’t pleased, but the controversy didn’t strike me as something that warranted three thousand words. My priority was the election, and I wasn’t interested in derailing that discussion to litigate a Chris Brown concert.
Compared with what Haley Stevens did on Nov. 1, Crockett practically deserves a commemorative plaque for maintaining party unity.
Stevens lost Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in August, and by the final week of October, she was still complaining about the result. Jesus Christ, what is it with politicians who lose primaries? Must every defeat become a Broadway musical? Can’t somebody congratulate the winner, go home, eat some ice cream, and complain privately to their spouse like a normal person?
