DETROIT — Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers used a televised town hall in the Detroit area on Monday night to argue that his Democratic rival, Abdul El-Sayed, can be beaten among two groups that usually anchor Democratic wins in Michigan: Black voters and Jewish voters.
The race for the open seat is one of the most closely watched in the country with two weeks left before the Nov. 3 election. Rogers brought up remarks El-Sayed made after Barack Obama won a second term in 2012, when he described the then-president as the wrong person to advance a progressive agenda, and said his campaign has been meeting with dozens of Black pastors and neighborhood leaders in Detroit who want a change.
Rogers also said he expects to win over a sizable share of the state’s roughly 70,000 Jewish Democrats, citing El-Sayed’s criticism of Israel. He estimated that winning half of them would add about 35,000 votes to his total.
Democrats are answering with their biggest draw. Obama is scheduled to rally with El-Sayed, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the rest of the Democratic ticket in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 24, the first day of statewide early in-person voting in Michigan. Organizers said the location would be announced a day ahead. Obama has also released a video urging voters to back El-Sayed.
The town hall also featured Rep. John James, the Republican nominee for governor, who argued that state spending under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has grown 50% beyond what it was under her Republican predecessor, Rick Snyder, and raised the specter of fraud like the cases investigated in Minnesota. Rep. Lisa McClain, who chairs the House Republican Conference, also took part.
Michigan voters will choose a new senator and a new governor this fall, with the governor’s office open as Whitmer reaches her term limit.
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