El-Sayed and Rogers Trade Personal Blows in First Michigan Senate Debate
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers interrupted each other for an hour in Grand Rapids, clashing over the Iran war, gas prices, tariffs and health care in one of the tightest Senate races in the country.
The first debate in Michigan’s open U.S. Senate race went personal within minutes on Thursday night. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers met in Grand Rapids for an hour-long exchange hosted by WOOD-TV8, and they talked over each other so often that moderator Rick Albin had to plead with them to stop.
“We cannot do this for every question,” Albin said. The two kept going anyway, bickering straight through a commercial break. They shook hands when it was over.
El-Sayed called Rogers a “sock puppet for the Trump administration.” Rogers said El-Sayed sounded like a “glitchy AI chatbot.”
A toss-up race
The polls say this one is close. A Fox News survey released Sept. 30 had El-Sayed at 50% and Rogers at 49% among likely voters, inside the margin of error.
The seat is open because Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. History is on the line either way: El-Sayed would be the first Muslim senator in U.S. history, while Rogers would be the first Republican to win a Michigan Senate seat in 32 years.
The Iran war
Both candidates said they now oppose continued U.S. involvement in the war with Iran. Rogers said the war should end now that Iran’s capacity to build a nuclear weapon appears weakened. El-Sayed called it a “stupid” conflict that Trump should never have started, and said Rogers backed it from the beginning. Rogers countered that El-Sayed won’t condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Only about a quarter of Michigan voters support the war, according to a WDIV/Detroit News survey.
Gas prices and tariffs
Albin opened the night with gas prices, and both candidates backed pausing the 18-cent federal gas tax. Trump has called for a temporary suspension of the tax. El-Sayed said it costs him more than $80 to fill his tank and blamed the war, which he said his opponent “cheer-led from the beginning.” Rogers said he has pushed for a pause on both the state and federal level, and wants a diesel rebate to help farmers.
On trade, Rogers said this week it is time to end the tariff war with Canada. El-Sayed said Rogers only changed his position because his poll numbers were dropping. Rogers has Trump’s endorsement.
The heritage attacks
Rogers repeatedly raised El-Sayed’s background as the son of Egyptian immigrants. He claimed El-Sayed refused to condemn Hamas, which El-Sayed denied. Rogers also brought up El-Sayed’s birth mother, Fatten Elkomy, who worked in the 1990s for the Islamic African Relief Agency. The U.S. Treasury later designated that charity as a terror-supporting network.
The Free Press has reported that these claims are misleading and lack context. Elkomy was never criminally charged, and no member of El-Sayed’s family was named in a lawsuit. El-Sayed said Rogers was tiptoeing around an accusation and told him to say it plainly. “Are you going after my mom?” he asked.
Doctor, doctor
Rogers said El-Sayed was “not really a doctor” and accused him of lying about being a physician. El-Sayed earned his medical degree at Columbia University but never completed a residency, so he cannot treat patients. Per the American Medical Association’s definition, he can legitimately call himself a doctor.
Israel and health care
Pressed repeatedly on whether Israel or Iran poses the bigger threat to the United States, El-Sayed refused to pick one. “It’s a ridiculous hypothetical,” he said. “Israel has pushed us to go to war in Iran.” Rogers said El-Sayed “could not even muster the courage” to condemn the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. “I’ve condemned that. I didn’t turn it into political theater,” El-Sayed replied.
On health care, El-Sayed said he wants to “guarantee every single person coverage, cradle to grave” through a government-run program, while letting families keep private insurance if they want it. Rogers said the plan would raise middle-class taxes, and said that in Congress he pushed to speed up generic drugs.
The one thing they agreed on: the national debt is too high.
A second and presumably final debate is set for Oct. 21 in Detroit, hosted by WXYZ. The election is Nov. 3.
