GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers traded fierce personal attacks and clashed over foreign policy, inflation and trade during their first televised U.S. Senate debate Thursday night.
The hourlong contest, hosted by Grand Rapids station WOOD-TV and moderated by Rick Albin, showcased the intense hostility defining one of the nation’s closest midterm elections, NBC News reported. Both men are competing to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, with late polling showing the race virtually tied and critical to determining which party holds the majority in the U.S. Senate.
Sharply divergent views on Iran and Israel
Foreign policy prompted some of the evening’s sharpest confrontations. While both candidates endorsed a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax to help consumers struggling with high fuel prices, they disagreed sharply on the conflict with Iran, CBS News reported.
El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director who would become the first Muslim elected to the Senate, blamed the war for rising domestic energy prices and accused Rogers of cheerleading military interventions backed by the Trump administration. Rogers argued that the military campaign had severely degraded Iran’s nuclear program and conventional armed forces, indicating that Washington should now seek to wrap up the fighting.
The two also clashed over Washington’s alliance with Israel. El-Sayed repeated his calls to halt American military funding to Israel, arguing that taxpayer money should be redirected toward domestic investments such as education and healthcare. Rogers firmly defended continued defense aid to the country, saying Israel maintains the right to defend itself, though he noted that any proposed deployment of nuclear weapons would cause him to pull his backing.
Trade tariffs and immigration enforcement
Domestic economic pressures linked to President Donald Trump’s policies also emerged as a central theme. Michigan voters have felt direct repercussions from an escalating trade dispute involving duties on goods crossing the Canadian border, NBC News reported.
El-Sayed sought to link Rogers directly to the administration’s tariff agenda, arguing that households in Michigan are bearing thousands of dollars in added costs each year. Rogers defended his recent efforts to push the White House toward a negotiated resolution with Canada, telling viewers that he had spoken with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about reaching an agreement to lift burdensome levies.
On immigration, both candidates criticized heavy-handed tactics used during enforcement raids in Minneapolis earlier this year that left two American citizens dead, Al Jazeera reported. Rogers, a former FBI agent, termed the high-profile operations inappropriate and argued law enforcement should operate quietly when apprehending suspects accused of violent crimes. El-Sayed reiterated his support for disbanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging that the agency terrorizes communities rather than conducting orderly enforcement.
Personal jabs and future outlook
Throughout the evening, moderator Albin repeatedly stepped in as the candidates spoke over each other and pursued personal attacks. Rogers labeled El-Sayed a con man, attacked his past statements on healthcare and questioned his patriotism and campaign funding. El-Sayed described Rogers as a cowardly sock puppet for Trump and criticized the former congressman’s property holdings in Florida, while Rogers targeted real estate owned by El-Sayed’s wife in the United Arab Emirates.
With the midterm elections less than a month away on Nov. 3, the candidates are scheduled to meet for a second debate before voters head to the polls to decide the high-stakes contest.
