Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers made their final pitches to Michigan voters on Monday, a day before a closely fought Senate election that could help determine control of Congress.
El-Sayed led among likely voters in a New York Times-Siena College poll released Sunday, with 53 percent support to Rogers’ 42 percent. The 11-point lead was outside the poll’s 3.6-point margin of error.
Rogers, a former congressman, rallied supporters in Rochester Hills on Monday night and described the election as a fight for the heart and soul of the United States.
El-Sayed focused on lowering living costs at a Detroit rally with United Auto Workers members. He also addressed anti-Muslim rhetoric and personal attacks that marked the final days of the campaign.
He said opponents were focusing on his name and faith instead of high fuel and grocery prices.
El-Sayed’s family immigrated to the United States from Egypt. President Donald Trump has been a leading source of anti-Muslim attacks against him, alleging without evidence that his election would bring an influx of jihadists.
Trump has also deliberately distorted El-Sayed’s name and used his middle name, Mohamed, to mock him.
El-Sayed said he did not care whether Trump knew his name because, after the election, he expected the president to call him senator.
A major challenge emerged from within the Democratic Party when Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the primary to El-Sayed, endorsed Rogers on Sunday.
Stevens said in a long post on X that an advertisement not affiliated with El-Sayed’s campaign influenced her decision. The advertisement linked US support for Israel to rising grocery prices. She also said El-Sayed’s campaign had ignored her.
Stevens wrote that she disagreed with Rogers on many issues but concluded that El-Sayed was unfit to serve in the Senate and could not remain neutral.
She also criticized Democratic colleagues who attacked her endorsement and signaled plans to help shape party leadership after her current term ends in January.
Rogers praised Stevens’ decision as a special kind of courage during his rally.
The race has become more than a contest between two parties, combining debate over living costs, anti-Muslim attacks and divisions within Michigan’s Democratic establishment.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report