The second debate between Michigan U.S. Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers took place Wednesday evening, weeks before the state’s midterm election. The contest is drawing national attention because Michigan is a battleground state and the open seat could affect control of the Senate.
El-Sayed, a Democrat, repeatedly invoked President Donald Trump as he sought to portray Rogers, the Republican, as aligned with the president. The source account says El-Sayed mentioned Trump 18 times during the hour-long debate and frequently labeled Rogers’ answers “MAGA bingo.” He used the phrase after Rogers accused him of supporting socialist policies, open borders and defunding the police. Rogers turned the line back on El-Sayed, suggesting the repeated references to Trump were themselves a kind of bingo game.
Rogers did not agree with Trump on every issue. He described the president’s tariffs as a “mixed bag” and said tariffs on Canada may not have been well considered. Rogers also opposed allowing Chinese automakers to build vehicles in the United States, saying Congress should prohibit it. El-Sayed responded that Trump had expressed openness to Chinese automakers building cars in the country and challenged Rogers to say whether he would oppose the president on the issue.
The candidates also disputed El-Sayed’s record and political positions. Rogers described the Democrat as having a “pattern of deception,” accusing him of misrepresenting his record and changing positions. He portrayed El-Sayed as outside the political mainstream, connecting his agenda to the Democratic Socialists of America and criticizing his past support for defunding the police.
El-Sayed has campaigned on a progressive platform that includes Medicare for All, higher taxes on wealthy people, ending U.S. military aid to Israel and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His campaign has received support from progressive figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Public safety became the debate’s most contentious subject, according to the account. Rogers criticized El-Sayed over his past support for defunding the police, alleged that he had deleted social media posts on the issue and brought up comments involving former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Rogers also alleged that some of El-Sayed’s donors and supporters had links to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood. Those were claims made during the debate; the supplied account does not independently establish them.
Rogers questioned El-Sayed’s allegiance to the country in connection with the donor allegations. El-Sayed called that line of questioning “beneath” Rogers, said he was proud to be an American and described the remarks as “shameful.” El-Sayed is Muslim and a first-generation American; his parents emigrated from Egypt.
The debate also touched on El-Sayed’s rhetoric about the war in Gaza and his positions on Israel. Rogers said his campaign was doing well with Jewish voters and claimed that members of that community were concerned about El-Sayed’s rhetoric. He also cited prominent Democrats who, according to Rogers, had said they could not support the party’s nominee, including a former Michigan Democratic Party chairman and a former finance chair for Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s campaign.
After the debate, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Jim Runestad criticized El-Sayed’s policy agenda and his past campaigning with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Runestad cited a past comment attributed to Piker about the Sept. 11 attacks and accused El-Sayed of appearing to justify a terrorist attack in Bloomfield Hills. These statements were made in a party chairman’s post-debate reaction and are not independently substantiated in the supplied material.
