“There is no tougher fighter for Michigan manufacturing and business than Rep. Haley Stevens. Her fierce advocacy for her district – from holding China accountable for their unfair trade practices to safeguarding the auto industry – are unparalleled. I’m proud to stand by her side and Michigan’s workers are in good hands with Haley Stevens fighting in their corner.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos
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To: Interested Parties
From: Courtney Rice, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 6, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Eric Esshaki
Today’s Republican primary results in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District put Representative Haley Stevens in an excellent position to win reelection in this suburban district that sits to the northwest of Detroit and includes the cities of Troy, Livonia, and Canton. Rep. Stevens has fought to grow and protect good-paying jobs in her home state of Michigan, including her time as Chief of Staff to President Obama’s auto rescue. In Congress, Stevens has kept up that mission: fighting to safeguard the auto industry, revive manufacturing jobs in Michigan, and hold China accountable for its unfair trade practices and shipping jobs overseas – and she’ll work with anyone to get the job done.
Republicans won’t be eager to invest in the expensive Detroit media market given their recruitment failure resulting in an unknown candidate, coupled with Stevens’ large cash on hand advantage and her reputation in the district as a fighter who gets the job done.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Manufacturing in Michigan getting boost from House Rep. Haley Stevens [FOX 2 Detroit, 08/02/19]
HEADLINE: Michigan Rep. Stevens introduces bill to ease economic burden on small manufacturers [FOX 2 Detroit, 03/25/20]
HEADLINE: Stevens meets with area businesses on impact of coronavirus [Spinal Column, 05/20/20]
HEADLINE: Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens introduces bill to lower prescription drug costs [FOX 2 Detroit, 10/15/19]
“Last week, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens led Michigan’s Congressional delegation in sending a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer encouraging her administration to consider the needs of small and mid-sized municipalities that missed out on federal funding as part of the recently-passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Michigan will receive nearly $4 billion from CARES Act.” [Associated Press, 04/14/20]
“Recruiters have also been stumped in Michigan, a state that will host competitive Senate and presidential contests. Eric Esshaki, a potential challenger to Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, has said he does not have enough signatures to get on the ballot before Tuesday’s deadline and has resorted to suing the governor.” [Politico, 04/19/20]
RECRUITMENT FAILURE: “One telling example comes in Michigan’s 11th District, which backed Donald Trump 50-45 but changed hands in 2018 when Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens captured it as an open seat. This suburban Detroit district should have automatically been a top GOP target, but Stevens ended March with a huge $2.5 million war chest while her best-funded Republican opponent, self-funding businesswoman Carmelita Greco, had less than a tenth that sum. And yet Greco is still better off than another Republican, attorney Eric Esshaki, who struggled to collect enough signatures from voters and may not even make the August primary ballot as a result. Trump could still do well enough to put his party over the top, but Stevens is very much the favorite in a race we rate as Likely Democratic.” [Daily Kos, 04/30/20]
Eric Esshaki: A Rubber Stamp For the Dangerous Washington Republican Agenda
ESSHAKI WANTS TO MAKE YOUR HEALTH CARE MORE EXPENSIVE
Health care continues to be a top priority for voters – with roughly 80% of Americans citing it as their number one concern – but Eric Esshaki wants to make Michiganders’ health care more expensive. Esshaki has promised to “fully repeal” the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees young people can stay on their parent’s insurance until age 26 and that people with pre-existing conditions like asthma or a pregnancy won’t be charged more or kicked off their insurance. If Esshaki had his way, 316,700 in the 11th District who have pre-existing conditions would be at risk of losing their care or being charged more and another 38,000 Michiganders in the District would be at risk of losing their coverage.
Esshaki has also incomprehensibly complained that the ACA has “only added to the suffering… that existed within the system” and that he “disagree[s]” with what Rep. Stevens has done on health care.
While Esshaki espouses politically driven talking points rather than solutions, Rep. Stevens is working to lower the cost of prescription drugs for her constituents, including introducing a bill that would “curb prescription drug prices and clear up the Medicare enrollment process.” She knows that the cost of health care is one of her constituents’ number one concerns and so, as always, she’s getting the job done.
SUPPORTS GIVEAWAYS TO LARGE CORPORATIONS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS
In typical wannabe Republican rubber stamp fashion, Eric Esshaki has praised the GOP tax handout, saying he wants to see it “become permanent.” This plan served as a giveaway to big corporations and the wealthiest few at the expense of the middle class. Big Pharma also benefitted heavily from this legislation: the top five pharmaceutical companies saved over $42.7 billion thanks to Republicans. And as Michiganders recently learned, the Trump Administration confirmed that “every Republican who voted for the tax cuts three years ago knowingly voted to destroy the 2010 law in its entirely, not just to get rid of the mandate that individuals buy health insurance.”
While Esshaki would prioritize the wealthy and well-connected in Washington, Rep. Stevens has fought tirelessly for small businesses and manufacturers in the district – most recently when it comes to easing the economic burden on manufacturers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HAD TO SUE TO GET ON THE BALLOT
Republicans had such a hard time recruiting here that the winner of the Republican primary had to sue to get on the ballot because he couldn’t collect enough petition signatures – even though the other three candidates were able to do so. Not to mention that he did so in the middle of a pandemic while the governor and state officials were busy responding to the health and economic fallout of the virus. Enough said.
PATH TO VICTORY
Rep. Haley Stevens carried this sparse suburban district located in the northwest suburbs of Detroit by 6.7 points, 51.8% to 45.2%, in 2018 in an open seat following the retirement of Republican David Trott. Stevens narrowly underperformed Governor Whitmer in the district by 0.2%, but outpaced Senator Stabenow by 0.9%. To win in November, Stevens needs to match her 2018 performance in Wayne and Oakland Counties.
Rep. Stevens has positioned herself as a true champion for Michigan manufacturing and small businesses and is well-known across the district for her Manufacturing Mondays. Thanks to Republicans’ recruitment failure in this district, Stevens will face unknown and underfunded Eric Esshaki who barely survived a nasty primary that featured repeated attacks from fellow Republican Carmelita Greco. Despite running in an expensive media market, Stevens starts the general election with a significant financial advantage over Esshaki, having over $3 million cash on hand compared to Esshaki’s paltry $213,143.64.
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