Democratic Michigan congresswoman and Senate candidate Haley Stevens spent a week getting mocked online for her bizarre, old-timey manner of speaking. Then suddenly, multiple posts appeared on X from Democratic influencers claiming that the 43-year-old Stevens was “growing on” them.
Stevens, an AIPAC-backed Democrat who is in a tight primary race against progressive favorite Abdul El-Sayed, went viral in mid-July for a speech where she claimed she was gonna “stick it to ’em, because that’s the Michigan way!”
The July 13 clip, along with another, earlier speech in which she tearfully cried “Israel comes to me in my dreams!”, generated some negative PR for the candidate.
But just as Stevens was becoming the butt of online jokes, a counter-narrative began to emerge. Several people claimed they were warming up to the congresswoman, with many expressing their newfound appreciation in strikingly similar terms.
“I gotta be honest. She’s grown on me. If I was a Michigander, I’d cast my ballot for Congresswoman Stevens in the Dem Primary,” tweeted @TheMaineWonk, a self-described “Radical Centrist” with 118,000 followers.
“She’s growing on me, I can’t help it,” said MS NOW analyst Tim Miller.
“Don’t kill me but… She’s growing on me,” tweeted user @envisionedluna.
Multiple other users who post about politics on X opined that Stevens was “growing on” them between July 16 and July 18.
The sudden influx of pro-Stevens posts felt fishy to many users, leading to a conspiracy theory that the Stevens campaign paid the influencers to post.
“Every dem influencer today abt Haley Stevens: ‘She’s grown on me’ ‘She’s grown on me’ ‘She’s grown on me,’” posted one user. “And how dare we suggest they’re being paid to say the exact same thing and prop up a mediocre, uninspiring candidate?”
Others turned the phrase into a meme.
“Haley Stevens is growing on me. the mold has spread everywhere, it began by taking root in every plank of wood in this home. it is now taking over my body completely as i pass away in this bed. goodbye,” joked one user.
“Haley Stevens is starting to grow on me. The antibiotics didn’t work; we’re going to try chemotherapy. The doctors have no idea what’s going on,” quipped another.
There’s no concrete evidence supporting the idea that Stevens purchased positive X posts. Some who have been accused of getting paid for their posts, such as Miller, have denied the charge.
“Obviously no campaigns pay me for my Twitter takes, and i wouldn’t accept if offered,” Miller wrote. “Haley Stevens opponents aren’t doing themselves any favors with the smear campaigns. I’d recommend touching grass.”
However, it is not unheard of for political groups to coordinate messaging on X.
For example, after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting in April, conservative influencers reportedly coordinated to make posts arguing that the shooting was proof of why Donald Trump needed his $600 million ballroom.