In this fraught election season, I’ve learned to listen to my spouse.

When I hear him mutter “oh for FUCK’s sake,” I know he’s glanced at his phone to read another push notification. Today it was what can legitimately be called a bombshell, i.e., Haley Stevens, the loser in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, endorsing the Republican Mike Rogers, after spending a couple of days tiffing with the man who beat her, Abdul El-Sayed.

The kids have an expression: Main-character syndrome, to describe a person who can never see a situation without seeking to make it all about them. Haley Stevens has a terminal case. In this case, I think she’s being guided by her fiancé, a lawyer and strongly pro-Israel activist, who no doubt helped guide millions in AIPAC money to her campaigns. But this is only speculation.

Speculation based on hints. Like this, from Politico over the weekend:

“Jason is vaporizing Haley’s future so that he can be a main character in this moment and it is sad to watch her participate in that,” Caitlin Legacki said of Stevens’ fiancé Jason Turkish in a social media thread, saying that during the primary he was “an extraordinarily toxic presence, was verbally abusive to staff and had some of the worst political instincts I’ve ever witnessed.”

So he has main-character syndrome, too.

Also, this, a Facebook post by Ray Wert, the husband of Mallory McMorrow, who was the third candidate in the primary and who dropped out before the election:

I’ve known Haley Stevens for a long time. Until now, she has always had staff to protect her, prop her up, and keep her safe from her own irrational behavior. What we’re seeing now? This is just raw, unfiltered Haley.

The Haley who flip-flops and goes from thought to thought without rhyme or reason. The Haley that calls you at 3 AM to yell at you, and then calls you back at 5 AM oblivious to the fact that she even spoke with you at 3 AM. The Haley who bends to the last and loudest voice that tells her something.

More often than not that last voice is now her fiancé. And as you can see by what one of her former staff people posted earlier here on X, that appears to potentially be a really troubling relationship.

Ultimately, I don’t think it will matter. About 1.4 million votes have already been cast statewide, and given the circus this has caused, I doubt there will be a stampede to clerk’s offices to spoil and recast ballots. I think, ultimately, she will be seen for what she is — a turncoat. But I don’t know. No one knows. We won’t know for a few more days.

And man, am I tired. So tired. Between Halloween and current events, I could use a long vacation.

On Sunday, I went to an open house for a new funeral parlor opening in Detroit, run by Lynch & Sons. No fearsome diagnosis at this end, I should add. One of the Lynches is a friend, and I went to be supportive. This beauty was parked out front:

A 1939 Packard, duplicate of the hearse driven by the patriarch of the family, the original Lynch, who sent his family into funeral service. One of his sons told me he and his brother are the only ones who know how to drive it.

“Three on the tree?” I asked. Yes, he replied, and I said, “I can drive it.”

I can. I can drive a three on the tree, a four on the floor, and any other pattern you want to throw in. The paddle shifters in my Subaru are a mystery to me, but I’ve never used them. On Saturday I was passed by a Waymo driverless taxi. Can’t drive that. Wouldn’t want to, either. I bet the steering on that hearse is a workout, though.

Oh my, am I tired. This may be the last update until after the election, although you never know. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope for deliverance. Onward!