Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers face each other tonight at 7 p.m. on WXYZ-TV Detroit in their second televised debate of Michigan's open U.S. Senate race, one day after both candidates appeared separately at the Detroit Economic Club to answer the same eight questions on health care, housing, tariffs, AI and the economy. According to NPR affiliate WCMU, the Tuesday forum at the Masonic Temple illuminated widely divergent plans from the two nominees.
Both candidates agreed that President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada has been hurting Michigan's economy, though both criticized free trade agreements as costing manufacturing jobs. El-Sayed pushed Medicare for All as the single most important way to support small businesses, called Trump's tariff approach "chaotic and self-serving," and proposed an SEC- or FDA-style agency to regulate AI. Rogers focused on energy production, lower taxes and health care price transparency, and pitched tying high school apprenticeship programs to home construction.
The race has grown heated: PolitiFact rated false Rogers' claim on national television that El-Sayed "didn't disavow" the Muslim Brotherhood, after video showed El-Sayed clearly saying "Sure, yeah, absolutely." Nearly 790,000 Michigan ballots have already been returned with two weeks until Election Day. The Cook Political Report rates the race a tossup, with El-Sayed leading by 2.6 points in the RealClearPolitics average. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed on October 24 in the contest for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.