Some Michigan Democrats came out in support of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers Thursday.
Rogers is working to siphon off party members who voted against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed during this month’s primary election. The close race saw Democrats split between El-Sayed’s endorsement of progressive policies and Congresswoman Haley Stevens’ (D-MI 11) more moderate views.
Rogers said he's only asking Democrats for the chance to earn their trust.
“Michigan deserves a senator who will sit down, whether you voted for me or not, who will listen to you, will treat you with respect, who will represent everybody,” he said during an event in Detroit Thursday.
As far as policies in his platform geared toward Democrats, Rogers said he’d be focused on improving children’s literacy, making homes more affordable, and helping people boost their credit scores.
Democrats who spoke included Huntington Woods Rabbi Asher Lopatin, state Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-Detroit), and a self-described Obama, Clinton, and Biden voter. Their reasons for being unsatisfied with El-Sayed varied.
Lopatin felt El-Sayed and some other Democrats have been complicit in antisemitism.
“The fact that they have not spoken out against that is very disappointing,” he said before speaking well of Rogers’ character.
El-Sayed has, in fact, spoken out against antisemitism, and he told NBC News earlier this month, "I love and revere Judaism and the Jewish people,” drawing a line between faith and culture, and the Israeli government.
The pro-Israel lobby has spent tens of millions of dollars against El-Sayed this campaign season.
Whitsett, who has most recently been a reliable vote for House Republicans when she comes to Lansing, didn’t directly criticize El-Sayed. Rather, she claimed Medicare for All, a hallmark of El-Sayed’s platform, would over-involve government in healthcare.
“The government will be controlling your healthcare. They will control your doctors, they will control your medication, they will control your visits, they will control everything,” Whitsett said.
No mainstream candidate is advocating for complete government control of healthcare.
The El-Sayed campaign responded to Rogers Thursday by tying him to President Donald Trump’s policies.
“Mike Rogers will put Donald Trump ahead of Michigan every single time. Just like he carried water for Trump’s dangerous election lies, he’ll rubber-stamp Trump’s reckless agenda — driving up gas prices and sending your tax dollars to fight foreign wars," El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak said in an emailed statement.
"Abdul's the only candidate with a coalition that can win this November and will get right to work in the US Senate getting money out of politics and putting money in your pockets,” the statement continued.
Both candidates’ chances of winning in November hinge on how well either camp can attract independent voters to their team while keeping their base intact.
