10
Loading video...
By Jesus Mesa and Steven Frank
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed clashed over war, President Donald Trump, religion and the economy Wednesday night during their second and final debate in Michigan's closely fought Senate race.
The candidates wasted little time drawing sharp contrasts, with El-Sayed portraying Rogers as an ally of Trump who would back further U.S. military involvement overseas, while Rogers attacked El-Sayed as too extreme for Michigan and challenged his positions on Iran, healthcare and China.
"My opponent is still cheerleading the war that YOU are paying for," El-Sayed said. "You send Mike Rogers to the U.S. Senate, do not be surprised when we fight more wars and accrue more national debt, or when he doesn't stand up for you or the price of your gas and groceries."
Read More on Politics
Rogers, meanwhile, went after El-Sayed over Iran, arguing that his Democratic opponent "can't even condemn the IRGC," referring to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and "doesn't believe Iran is any more dangerous than Israel."
"This is an absolute non-starter if you're gonna send somebody to the United States Senate," Rogers said, according to a statement posted by his campaign during the debate. The campaign separately renewed allegations linking El-Sayed's donors to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed has denied that he or his family has ties to the organization.
The exchanges came with El-Sayed holding a narrow advantage in recent polling. He entered the debate about 2.6 points ahead in the RealClearPolitics polling average as the candidates vie for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
Trump, War and the Economy
El-Sayed opened by arguing that Americans' tax dollars should be spent at home rather than on foreign wars.
"I'm running because it shouldn't be this hard to pay your taxes and know that your money's going to [be] spent on you and your kids rather than dropping bombs on somebody else's," he said.
He framed the election as a choice between his economic agenda and what he called "the MAGA vision," saying Republican policies were raising gas and grocery prices and accusing Rogers of being dependent on Trump's support.
"This is your record. You don't wanna talk about it because you are embarrassed of it, and you are also embarrassed of the fact that you cannot win this race without Trump coming here and stumping for you," El-Sayed said. "If you like the way things have been for the last two years, that's what Mike Rogers wants."
At another point, El-Sayed jokingly urged viewers to play "MAGA bingo" when Republicans use political buzzwords.
...
"The thing about MAGA is whenever they're talking, they are trying to distract you," he said. "They're going to use buzzwords, and I hope y'all can play bingo at home."
Rogers took a more conditional position on Trump's tariffs.
"My position on tariffs is simple: If they work for Michigan, I am for them; if they aren't good for Michigan, I am against them," he said.
That echoed a theme Rogers has pursued in the closing weeks of the campaign: supporting the Trump administration while arguing he is willing to push back when its policies hurt Michigan. After the candidates' first debate, Rogers said he had pressed the administration for a resolution to the Canada tariff dispute, telling reporters it was "time to wrap it up."
Rogers also took a hard line on China during Wednesday's debate, saying: "Communist China cannot be allowed to build cars in the United States—period."
Religion and Ideology
One of the night's most pointed exchanges came after El-Sayed accused Rogers of questioning his patriotism and loyalty.
"Mike, it's really quite beneath you to question my loyalty to the Constitution," El-Sayed said. "I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray."
Rogers countered that his criticism was directed at El-Sayed's politics, not his religion.
"I wore the uniform of the United States to protect Americans' right to pray any way they want," Rogers said in a quote subsequently posted by his campaign. "This is not about Abdul's faith—it's about his extreme ideology."
The Republican's campaign has repeatedly portrayed El-Sayed as extreme and again used the nickname "Conman Abdul" during the debate.
Rogers also attacked El-Sayed's healthcare proposals, saying they "would rip away your private health insurance and bankrupt Medicare for the seniors who have earned it."
Mike Rogers vs. Abdul El-Sayed: Latest Polls
Nearly every recent poll has El-Sayed ahead, though rarely by much.
The latest poll, from Marist University, puts El-Sayed ahead of Rogers by 2 points, 50 percent to 48 percent, among 1,185 likely voters surveyed October 15 to 18. Three percent were undecided, while 1 percent said they would vote for someone else.
InsiderAdvantage found almost the same gap, 48 percent to 46 percent, in its October 9 to 10 survey of 1,200 likely voters.
The one recent poll with Rogers in front was paid for by his allies. The Tyson Group, surveying for Alliance for a Better Future, which is affiliated with Rogers, had him up 46 percent to 44 percent among 600 likely voters from October 6 to 8.
Two other early-October polls showed a one-point race. Quantus Insights put El-Sayed at 48 percent and Rogers at 47 percent among 744 likely voters on October 5 to 6, while YouGov's larger sample of 3,947 likely voters, collected September 22 to October 4, put El-Sayed ahead 49 percent to 48 percent.
"The race could tighten, perhaps dramatically," Mitchell Research & Communications warned when it released an early-October poll showing El-Sayed up about 4 points. The firm pointed to past Michigan Senate contests in which Republicans closed late.
Prediction markets are less hedged. On October 17, Polymarket priced El-Sayed's chances at 71 percent and Kalshi at 68 percent.
Closing Sprint in Michigan
Rogers and El-Sayed were in the same room Tuesday at the Detroit Economic Club, though not on stage together. Each took the same set of questions for roughly 25 minutes.
Rogers made his access to the administration the centerpiece. "Send somebody back that can actually go and get a meeting and fix it," he told the crowd, before warning that democratic socialism was on the ballot, a nod to El-Sayed backers such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
El-Sayed opened by calling himself a capitalist. His quarrel, he said, is with a few giant corporations that dominate the economy. He wants monopolies regulated, unions strengthened and health coverage guaranteed for everyone.
The night before, Rogers sat down with Sean Hannity for a Fox News town hall and argued that El-Sayed is vulnerable with Black and Jewish voters.
Trump has got personal. Mocking El-Sayed's name at an October 16 rally in Dalton, Georgia, he told the crowd: "I'm the president. I can call you whatever the hell I want, Muhammad." He also called El-Sayed a radical with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed denies.
In Monroe last week, Vice President JD Vance called Michigan's the most important race in the country.
The weekend brings both parties' heaviest hitters. Obama rallies with El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson in Detroit at 5 p.m. Saturday, October 24, the first day of early in-person voting. Trump follows on Sunday with a rally at McMorran Place in Port Huron, where he is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m.
Why Is the Michigan Senate Race Important in the 2026 Midterms?
Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, so Democrats need a net gain of four to take control. Holding Peters' seat is the starting point for any Democratic path to a majority.
Michigan is one of only two states Trump carried in 2024 where Democrats are defending a Senate seat this year, which puts it near the top of the GOP target list. Republicans have not won a Senate race there since 1994, though.
Recent margins have been thin. Trump won the state by about 1.5 points in 2024, and that same year Democrat Elissa Slotkin beat Rogers by roughly a third of a point.
Both Sabato's Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report rate the contest a toss-up.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jenna deJong, Emma Lee-Sang, Edward T. Cummins
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines