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In combative first Michigan Senate debate, Rogers and El-Sayed trade attacks

Rogers used the debate to restate his positions on Iran, Canada’s tariffs and immigration enforcement.

In combative first Michigan Senate debate, Rogers and El-Sayed trade attacks
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This article1 analysis · Oct 9, 2026

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Oct 9, 2026
tl;dr

Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed clashed in their first debate in Michigan’s competitive Senate race, trading personal attacks and discussing foreign policy, immigration and trade. The contest is for an open seat that both parties see as pivotal to control of the Senate.

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VOTING CLOSED
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Mike Rogers R · MI
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This story reports what happened without casting Rogers in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Rogers’s record.

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Republican Senate candidate in Michigan

PRIMARY SUBJECT

Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan

El-Sayed's version of this story ↗

U.S. representative from Michigan and former primary opponent of El-Sayed

Elissa Slotkin
D · MI · SEN

U.S. senator from Michigan and former Senate-race opponent of Rogers

Donald Trump
R · President of the United States

President of the United States

Gary C. Peters
D · MI · SEN

U.S. senator from Michigan

ALSO MENTIONED  Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan; Hasan Piker, Online commentator; Rick Albin, Debate moderator

Part of a bigger story

27 OUTLETS
Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed Hold First Michigan Senate Debate

Outlets agree Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed held their first debate in Michigan’s Senate race, trading personal attacks and clashing over policy issues. Left-leaning outlets focus on Rogers’s attacks on El-Sayed’s mother and related fact-checking. Center outlets portray a combative exchange over policy and personal claims, with some checking assertions from both candidates and others emphasizing the foreign-policy clash. Right-leaning outlets foreground Rogers’s challenges to El-Sayed over foreign ties and positions, with some coverage portraying Rogers as performing well.

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