Michigan Senate Race Ends With Split Appeals and Late Defection

The Michigan Senate race concluded its final campaign events on Monday evening, with the two candidates delivering distinct closing arguments in separate cities. Republican Mike Rogers addressed a crowd in Rochester Hills, while Democrat Abdul El-Sayed spoke in Detroit. The contest will help determine control of the U.S. Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Rogers framed the election as a battle over national identity. He urged supporters to defend freedom and asked the audience if they were ready to defeat the Democrat Socialists of America. He highlighted the late endorsement of Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat who lost the party’s primary earlier this year. Stevens endorsed Rogers on Sunday, a move that drew applause at the Rochester Hills rally.

El-Sayed focused his appeal on the cost of living, specifically citing the prices of fuel and groceries. He argued that these economic pressures deserved more attention than his personal name or religious faith. This response addressed anti-Muslim rhetoric that intensified in the campaign’s final days. Trump, who has claimed El-Sayed would bring jihadis to the United States, was the leading source of those attacks.

Stevens provided a detailed explanation for her switch on Monday. She published a lengthy statement on X, pointing to an unaffiliated advertisement that linked U.S. support for Israel with rising grocery prices. She stated that the El-Sayed campaign had excluded her and that she concluded El-Sayed was unfit for the Senate. Stevens suggested she would help lead efforts to strengthen the Democratic Party after leaving office in January.

Polling data released on Sunday indicated a clear advantage for El-Sayed. A New York Times and Siena survey found him leading among likely voters by 11 percentage points. The poll showed El-Sayed at 53 percent and Rogers at 42 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

The final endorsement introduced a new element of uncertainty as voters prepared to cast their ballots. Rogers praised the courage behind Stevens’ decision, prompting supporters to chant her name. El-Sayed dismissed Trump’s treatment of his name, telling supporters that the election would require the president to address him as a senator. Both campaigns ended their public appearances as the state moved toward the Tuesday vote.