El-Sayed, Rogers Clash in Fiery First Michigan Senate Debate
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers met Thursday night in Grand Rapids for the first televised debate of Michigan’s open U.S. Senate race, an hour-long showdown marked by personal attacks, interruptions and sharp disagreements over the war in Iran, gas prices, tariffs and Israel.
The debate, hosted by WOOD-TV and broadcast nationally on NewsNation, underscored the high stakes of a contest seen as pivotal to control of the Senate. It became so heated that moderator Rick Albin, after one commercial break, said that in 30 years of moderating debates he had never seen an argument continue through a break.
A Debate Dominated by Jabs
According to NBC News, El-Sayed sought to portray Rogers as a weak-willed loyalist to President Donald Trump who has recently changed his positions out of political necessity, while Rogers tried to frame El-Sayed as a “con man” making promises he cannot pay for.
“Listen to this guy and what he’s trying to sell here today,” Rogers said. “He is actually selling the best con I think I’ve ever seen.” El-Sayed countered by calling his rival “weak, cowardly, won’t stand up until his poll numbers drop.”
Albin repeatedly pleaded for order. “I’d like to be a part of the debate, too,” he interjected at one point, later telling the candidates they could not “litigate all of these with 14 different rebuttals.”
Clashes Over Iran, Israel and Gas Prices
The debate opened with a question about pausing the federal gas tax amid high pump prices tied to the war with Iran. Both candidates said they would support a pause, but the discussion quickly widened into a broader dispute over the conflict.
“I would support pausing the federal gas tax, but there is one thing that is actually causing this: It’s the war in Iran, a war that has been cheer-led by my opponent since the beginning,” El-Sayed said. “When I go to the gas tank, I don’t feel like I’m winning.”
Rogers said the U.S. needed “the war to come to an end” but defended it, arguing Iran’s nuclear program had been “set back twenty years.”
The sharpest exchange came over U.S. policy toward Israel. According to The Jerusalem Post, El-Sayed repeatedly declined to say whether Israel or Iran poses a greater threat, calling it a “ridiculous hypothetical.”
“I don’t consider an ally a country that takes us to wars we don’t need to fight,” El-Sayed said. Asked whether he would vote to arm Israel after an Iranian attack, he answered flatly: “I don’t want our tax dollars buying weapons for other countries. That’s a no.” Rogers responded: “I’ll answer the question. Absolutely. He won’t.”
Identity and a Watch-List Insinuation
Rogers repeatedly pushed attacks that centered on El-Sayed’s identity as a Muslim, who would become the first Muslim member of the Senate if elected.
As Al Jazeera reported, Rogers said El-Sayed had “taken money from individuals on his campaign who openly support Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda,” and later implied his rival’s family might be on a terrorism watch list.
“Why would that bother you?” Rogers asked. “Well, if you have somebody in your family that might be on the terrorism watch list …”
El-Sayed dared him to continue. “You’ve been tiptoeing about it the whole time. Just say it.”
Tariffs, Immigration and Divergent Visions
On tariffs, another sensitive issue in a state that borders Canada, Rogers sought to distance himself from Trump’s trade war, saying he had called the White House and the commerce secretary about getting a deal done. El-Sayed accused him of flip-flopping, citing a study that estimated the tariffs have cost Michigan households $5,600.
The candidates diverged most sharply on immigration. El-Sayed has called for abolishing ICE, saying the agency “is about terrorising our streets,” while Rogers, a former FBI agent, said this year’s public operation in Minneapolis — which resulted in federal agents shooting and killing two U.S. citizens — was “probably not appropriate.”
After the debate, Trump posted on Truth Social that Rogers had “completely obliterated” El-Sayed, referring to him as “Mohammad El-Sayed” and a “Jihadist lunatic.”
What’s Next
The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is not seeking re-election, and Republicans have not won a Michigan Senate seat since 1994. With Election Day on November 3 and polling showing a close race, the debate offered voters a preview of a contest likely to remain bitter to the end.
A second debate is planned, giving both candidates another opportunity to press their case — and, if Thursday was any indication, to trade more blows.