El-Sayed and Rogers Trade Sharp Attacks over Trump, Social Security and Policing in Final Michigan Senate Debate

Southfield: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers met on Wednesday night for their second and final televised debate in Michigan’s closely contested US Senate race, clashing for an hour over the economy, health care, public safety, national security and the influence of President Donald Trump.

The race, for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, is one of the most closely watched contests of the November 3 midterm elections and could help decide control of the Senate. Michigan is one of only two Democratic-held Senate seats being contested in a state Trump won in 2024, and spending on the race could reach an estimated $300 million.

The debate, hosted by WXYZ-TV at its studios in Southfield and moderated by station journalists Chuck Stokes, Carolyn Clifford and Alicia Smith, came less than two weeks after a first encounter in Grand Rapids on October 8 that was marked by interruptions and personal attacks. Wednesday’s exchange was more focused on policy, though both candidates kept up a combative tone from the outset.

El-Sayed, a physician and former director of the Wayne County health department, repeatedly sought to link Rogers to Trump and to administration policies such as tariffs and the war with Iran, inviting viewers to keep a “MAGA bingo” card to track his opponent’s answers and accusing Rogers of depending on the president to win. Rogers, a former seven-term congressman and ex-chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, responded that El-Sayed should keep his own card for each time he mentioned Trump, and accused the Democrat of repeatedly making false statements.

On Social Security, whose retirement trust fund is projected to run short in 2032, Rogers said the programme could be strengthened by eliminating what he described as about $500 billion in fraud, and pledged to make permanent tax cuts on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits. El-Sayed said he would raise taxes to fund the programme while ending taxes on benefits, and pointed to Rogers’ past support for a partial privatisation plan from the George W. Bush era. Rogers did not respond to that point on stage, but his campaign later said he was committed to protecting Social Security. Rogers had previously indicated openness to changing the retirement age, though he has not pushed such plans in the current campaign.

Public safety produced another heated exchange. Rogers argued that El-Sayed had supported defunding the police in 2020 and 2021 and said the Democrat favoured open borders and policies that would raise costs for families. El-Sayed, who has moved away from his earlier rhetoric on the issue, said he supports funding police retirement, retention and recruitment, alongside investment in behavioural health response and community violence intervention programmes.

The debate also turned personal at times. Rogers denied engaging in Islamophobia but repeated claims, which fact-checkers have found to be false, linking El-Sayed to a terrorist organisation. El-Sayed said the attack was beneath his opponent and affirmed his pride in being an American. If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim member of the US Senate.

The two candidates shook hands at the end of the debate, with both campaigns now entering the final stretch before Election Day.