Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers falsely claimed on national television that Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed "didn't disavow" the Muslim Brotherhood, a claim PolitiFact rated false after video showed El-Sayed clearly saying "Sure, yeah, absolutely" when asked. The attack came one day before the two candidates appeared at the Detroit Economic Club forum on October 20.
A leaked group chat also revealed that University of Michigan College Republicans were allegedly paid $200 each to heckle El-Sayed at a town hall with Muslim Brotherhood questions, according to election coverage of the race. El-Sayed called out the line of attack directly: "You're assuming that because I am Muslim, that somehow I would have some allegiance to something that is not our Constitution."
The false claim underscores how heated Michigan's open Senate race has become in its final two weeks. The Cook Political Report rates the contest a tossup, with El-Sayed leading by 2.6 points in the RealClearPolitics average, and the candidates meet tonight at 7 p.m. on WXYZ-TV Detroit for their second debate. Rogers' campaign has also run ads calling El-Sayed a "conman," while El-Sayed has attacked Rogers' wealth and corporate donors.