Making Matt Foley proud.
A candidate for the United States Senate in Michigan is going viral for her recent campaign speech – and not in a good way.
Haley Stevens currently serves in the House of Representatives, representing the fine folks in the state’s 11th Congressional district. Stevens has been in the House since 2018.
Now, it kinda surprised me that she’s been in Congress that long, because honestly I had never heard of her until this clip started going viral. But apparently, Stevens is running for Senate to fill the seat that’s being vacated by the retirement of Michigan’s current senator, Gary Peters. And how lucky we are that she’s on the campaign trail, because we now have what’s sure to be one of the best campaign speeches of the 2026 election cycle.
During a recent campaign stop in Ecorse, Michigan, Stevens gave voters an impassioned pep talk while promising to fight for them in the Senate:
“I am gonna be working on our behalf. I am going to be telling the stories on our behalf. And you better believe I’m gonna be doing it with a little bit of joy, a little bit of enthusiasm, a little bit of energy, and a little bit of stick it to ’em. Because that’s the Michigan way.”
That’s…something.
And look, I’m not here to speak on Stevens as a candidate, because like I said, I didn’t know she existed until about 24 hours ago and I know nothing about the US Senate race in Michigan. What I do know about though, is one of the greatest comedic actors of all time, Chris Farley – and apparently the candidate’s speech reminds a lot of people of one iconic Chris Farley character in particular.
Whether or not you’re an SNL fan, you’ve probably seen the hilarious Matt Foley sketches from the late comedy legend. The original is maybe one of the greatest sketches in the show’s history, with Farley serving as a motivational speaker warning kids about the danger of drugs – and warning them that they’re going to end up “living in a van down by the river.”
It’s a hilarious character, and one that Farley reprised for a total of 8 appearances on the show between 1993 and 1997. And apparently, a lot of folks spotted the similarities between the speech from Stevens and Matt Foley’s motivational speeches:
It’s funny because it’s so spot on.
And look, like I said, I have no dog in the fight and know nothing about the Michigan senate race, so I don’t really care one way or the other. But I’m just saying, if we have the opportunity to get Matt Foley speeches on the floor of the United States Senate for the next six years, is that really one we can afford to pass up?
Don’t want to end up living in a van down by the river.
