“Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder delivered on a promise Wednesday, posting an impression of Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens after Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won the state’s U.S. Senate race, according to Variety. Einbinder teased the bit on her Instagram Stories Tuesday night, writing that she would debut her “perfect” Stevens impression if “our guys (gender neutral) win tonight.” About 15 hours later, she posted a video from a bar, captioned “As promised.” In the clip, she mimics Stevens urging voters to give opponents “a little bit of stick it to ’em.” A later post read “Mazel tov, Abdul.”
The joke stems from a turbulent final week in the Michigan race. Stevens, who narrowly lost the August Democratic primary to El-Sayed, endorsed Republican Mike Rogers on Sunday, about 48 hours before Election Day. She told an audience that “we have to stand with country.” Stevens cited a falling-out with El-Sayed’s campaign, which told her to stay away from its events. The dispute followed an outside group’s advertisement that blamed high living costs on U.S. support for Israel. She also pointed to her objections to the streamer Hasan Piker, who had joined some of El-Sayed’s campaign events. Her fiancé, Jason Turkish, had said earlier that he would vote for Rogers.
The reversal drew swift condemnation from Democrats. State party chair Curtis Hertel and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer criticized it, and several congressional staffers resigned. A CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, in which Stevens declined to explain the shift to his satisfaction, circulated widely and gave late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart material.
Supporters of Stevens, including some conservative commentators, framed the endorsement as a principled stand against what they described as the party’s leftward drift. Critics on the left and in the center argued her stated reasons were thin. One MS NOW columnist called her rationale incoherent, noting she had once labeled Rogers a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The Associated Press has called the race. El-Sayed would become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. Einbinder shares El-Sayed’s advocacy for Palestinian rights. She said “Free Palestine” in her Emmy acceptance speech last year.
