Haley Stevens

Stevens is the daughter of small-business owners; she has said that her parents met at Oakland University and that her mother paid for school by washing dishes.[7] Pew Research Center's table for the 116th Congress records her religious affiliation as unspecified Protestant.[8] Its tables for the 118th and 119th Congresses use the same classification.[9][10]

Before entering Congress, Stevens worked on Democratic presidential campaigns and served in the Obama administration's efforts to revive the American auto industry following the 2008 financial crisis.[11] She later described herself as the auto rescue's chief of staff and the only person from Michigan on its team.[7] In congressional testimony, she credited the rescue with saving more than 200,000 Michigan jobs.[3] Her pre-congressional background also included work at a federally funded research laboratory, and she has identified science, development, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing as central professional interests.[11]

Stevens was first elected in the 2018 midterm elections, defeating Republican nominee Lena Epstein in Michigan's 11th Congressional District and succeeding retiring Republican Representative Dave Trott.[12] Her congressional service began on January 3, 2019. During the 116th and 117th Congresses, her committee assignments included the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and the House Committee on Education and Labor.[2]

Following redistricting after the 2020 census, Stevens faced fellow Democratic incumbent Andy Levin in the 2022 primary for the redrawn 11th District. She won with 59.9% of the vote to Levin's 40.1%.[5] The contest drew significant attention in American Jewish politics because the district included major Jewish population centers in Oakland County and because the two candidates represented markedly different Democratic approaches to Israel.[5]

By 2026, Stevens was serving her fourth House term.[13] In campaign appearances, she highlighted her work on the CHIPS and Science Act, including provisions concerning STEM equity, job training, and manufacturing.[7] In a 2026 committee statement, she said more than $32 million in Federal Highway Administration grants had supported smart-intersection and connected-vehicle research at the University of Michigan. She also said Oakland County contained businesses for 76 of the world's 100 largest auto-parts suppliers.[3]

In the same statement, Stevens discussed her No Chinese Cars Act, which she said would stop the flow of Chinese-made automobiles and parts into the United States because they threatened Michigan jobs.[3] She connected that proposal to broader priorities involving Michigan manufacturing, workforce support, and investment in next-generation transportation technologies.

Stevens has been described as one of Congress's more outspoken Democratic supporters of Israel.[4] She has emphasized Israel's military security and opposed efforts to delegitimize the country.[11][6] She has also supported a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians live side by side and has described herself as skeptical of U.S. reentry into the Iran nuclear deal.[4][14]

Following Hamas's October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel, Stevens and Representative French Hill led the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages and Americans Wrongfully Detained Abroad.[15] Stevens sponsored H.Res.793, introduced on October 17, 2023, which condemned the attack and hostage-taking, demanded the immediate release of all hostages, recognized hostage-taking as a violation of international humanitarian law, and expressed sympathy for hostages and their families.[16] The House passed the resolution on November 28, 2023, by a unanimous 414–0 vote.[15][17]

In floor remarks that day, Stevens described the attack as killing more than 1,200 people and abducting more than 240 people, including Israelis, foreign nationals, dual nationals, and Americans. She said the hostages included civilians, soldiers, women, children, grandparents, and Holocaust survivors. Stevens also called for humanitarian assistance to Palestinian families and said preventing regional escalation and achieving lasting peace were among her priorities.[17]

In May 2025, Stevens introduced H.Res.413 with Representative Hill, again condemning the October 7 attacks and demanding the release of all remaining hostages. Findings in the introduced resolution stated that Hamas and other terrorist organizations had kidnapped more than 250 hostages representing over 20 nationalities and that 58 remained in captivity at the time of introduction, including four Americans: Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, Judi Weinstein, and Gad Haggai.[18]

Stevens also sponsored amendment 691 to the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would establish a Department of Defense program providing digital-literacy training to members of the armed services so they could identify and mitigate internal-threat vulnerabilities linked to antisemitic, white-supremacist, and extremist conspiracy theories.[19]

In 2026, Stevens sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Michigan Senator Gary Peters.[13][7] She emphasized manufacturing, organized labor, and her work on the Obama administration's auto rescue. At a February 2026 UAW forum, she supported expanding the Affordable Care Act, protecting Medicaid, establishing affordable Medicare-negotiated prescription drugs, and backing the PRO Act.[13]

The primary became a prominent intra-Democratic debate over Israel policy, AIPAC, military aid, and accusations concerning antisemitism.[20] Stevens defended her support for Israel and a two-state solution throughout the campaign. During a campaign appearance, she said she was willing to stand up to both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and described long-term peace as her objective.[14]

Stevens also supported export controls relating to China and proposed taxing commercial artificial-intelligence use to fund apprenticeship programs. Her AI plan included transparency and safety testing as well as legal remedies when AI systems cause harm.[7]

Stevens lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed. With 99% of votes tallied, El-Sayed was reported to have received 48.5% to Stevens's 47.5%.[21] Stevens called El-Sayed to concede and issued a statement congratulating him, describing him as a doctor, community health official, Rhodes Scholar, and dedicated Michigander. She also expressed support for him in the general election against Republican Mike Rogers.[22]

Following her Senate primary loss, Stevens described anti-Zionism as having become a hate movement in the United States and reiterated her identity as a "traditional and classical liberal Democrat." She remained a sitting U.S. representative from Michigan at that time.[6]