Michigan Senate Candidates Clash in Final Debate

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers clashed in their final televised debate in Michigan’s closely contested U.S. Senate race, which could affect control of the chamber. El-Sayed cast Rogers as a proxy for President Donald Trump and blamed Trump-aligned policies for rising costs; Rogers accused El-Sayed of extremism and dishonesty, challenged his views on Iran and Israel, and questioned his loyalty, including by raising alleged ties to Islamist groups. El-Sayed rejected the insinuations and affirmed his commitment to the Constitution and the United States. They also disputed immigration and ICE, policing, health care, manufacturing, tariffs and AI regulation: Rogers backed a national AI framework and an antitrust exemption, while El-Sayed called for pausing frontier AI research and for democratic oversight. Their economic proposals differed, with Rogers advocating domestic energy production, low taxes, health-care price transparency and skilled-trade training, and El-Sayed calling for action against monopolies, guaranteed health coverage and attracting workers to Michigan. Both criticized the Canada trade dispute and said it was hurting Michigan’s economy, while differing over tariffs and trade policy.