Haley Stevens, her fiancé and the sexism debate unfolding online - USA Today

Michigan Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens is at the center of Election Day controversy after endorsing Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate in her home state's Senate race, just two days prior to the Nov. 3 elections. Her decision came as a shock to her Democratic colleagues and supporters – many of whom have now turned to blaming her fiancé, Jason Turkish, for Stevens' political shift.

Reactions quickly poured in on social media.

Susan Wild, a former Pennsylvanian representative, called her endorsement of Rogers "appalling," speculating that Turkish was behind the "betrayal."

"If this is all because of her new relationship (which many of us were so happy for her after she lost the primary), all I can say is that any woman who abandons her friends when a new guy comes along is no friend at all," Wild wrote on X. On Facebook, journalist Ray Wert said that Steven’s voice "more often than not… is now her fiancé."

In a lengthy post on X, Stevens called the backlash "sexism dressed up as political analysis."

"A woman can serve in Congress, run statewide, and fight for her convictions, and still be told that when she makes a choice people dislike, someone else must be pulling the strings," she wrote. USA TODAY has reached out to Stevens for comment.

Political science and gender experts say she's not completely wrong. Family, partners and friends can sway individuals' political beliefs, but this response follows a long history of sexism in U.S. politics, according to Kelly Dittmar, an associate professor of political science at Rutgers University–Camden and director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics.

"We have too often assumed women, whether as voters or as political leaders, will behave in ways that are aligned with or even controlled by dominant male partners or spouses," Dittmar said. "There's been an underlying thread throughout history ... that goes back to traditional gender roles in which the male is dominant and the woman is dependent."

Nuance is crucial in these situations, Dittmar said. Believing Stevens' partner influenced her decision is a logical line of thinking. Assuming she made the decision only due to her partner's influence is where it creeps into gendered stereotypes.

"It takes away her own agency, which she has just as a human being, but certainly as a member of Congress," Ditmar explained. For those angry or feeling betrayed by her political shift, placing the blame on her partner "removes accountability" from Stevens.

"We want women to have autonomy of choice and agency, and then when they use that choice and agency, if there's repercussions for her politically or otherwise, then that's on her, and that's right because it was ultimately a decision she made," Dittmar said.

Juliet A. Williams, a gender studies professor at UCLA, said it's "totally sexist and unnecessary for legitimate critics to be focusing on the influence of the fiancé."

"I would like to see Stevens rightly standing up to those sexist criticisms and calling out the quickness with which people fall back on demeaning and disrespectful explanations," she said.

But Williams warned that Stevens' response shouldn't frame sexism as a partisan issue (Stevens critiqued the Democrats for "pushing her out" of the party after her endorsement): "This kind of bias is much deeper and pervasive than any one particular party or moment."

Williams said this controversy aligns with a "double bind" that has "compromised the ability of women to play a role in political life." When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ran for president, there were a slew of political comics and commentary that suggested former President Bill Clinton would be pulling the strings. Throughout Sarah Palin's tenure as the governor of Alaska, people speculated that Todd Palin was "the shadow governor," Dittmar said.

It's boils down to there being "no right way" to act as a woman, Williams said. If you have a partner, it's believed that you think and act at the whims of their beliefs. If you don't, you're a "childless cat lady," she explained.

"Women are not taken seriously as their own independent thinkers," Williams said.

Dittmar said it can be especially difficult to understand why Stevens made this political decision when it could "hurt her political future" and her party. But to steer clear of gendered stereotypes, she suggests avoiding the "black and white answer" and listening to Stevens directly.

"She is clearly with somebody who has the opposite opinion, and it would be naive to think he wasn't trying to influence her," she said. "But at the end of the day, he didn't make that decision. He didn't go to the the event and stand next to Mike Rogers. He didn't go on CNN to defend that choice. That's her. So it can be influenced by others, but she ultimately makes that decision, and again is accountable for that decision."