LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers seized on past comments from Democratic opponent Abdul El Sayed, highlighting El Sayed's recorded disdain for Mackinac Island in a sharp exchange less than 90 days before the November election.
El Sayed's original remarks, captured in a 2020 documentary about his failed 2018 gubernatorial bid, resurfaced online this week. During a campaign visit to the island, El Sayed was recorded saying, "I hate Mackinac so much. Every time I've ever come here I've hated it. Why am I here?" He also bemoaned the prospect of his summer home being there if he had won the governor's race.
Rogers quickly used the comments in a post on X, declaring his affection for the island. He wrote, "There's no place like Mackinac," alongside pictures of himself and his wife eating ice cream and sitting by the water there.
The comments carry political weight in Michigan. Mackinac Island has served as the location of the governor's summer residence since 1945 and is a popular historic vacation spot.
El Sayed stood by his remarks after the clip went viral. Responding to a post that described the island as "the most American place" in Michigan, he said: "Not sure about 'End Wokeness,' but I don't think the most 'American place in MI' can be a place that…bans cars."
Rogers' attack is part of a broader effort to peel away Democratic voters who opposed El Sayed in the primary. In a campaign video, Rogers appealed directly to those voters: "If you're among the majority of Democratic voters that woke up on Wednesday feeling hopeless because the person who won does not represent your values, just know there is still hope." He added that Michigan deserves "a senator who is ready to sit with you, hear from you, and represent you," and accused El Sayed's campaign of being "filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence, and views that are out of touch with your values."
El Sayed, who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, fired back. He called Rogers a coward and accused Republicans—including Vice President JD Vance—of launching Islamophobic attacks following his primary victory. "His ideas are old, his perspective on politics is old — and he's going to find that people don't want that perspective anymore," El Sayed said. "So, of course he's going to do the same thing that MAGA always does, which is try to divide us."
Vance, appearing on Fox News, criticized El Sayed directly. "He's this guy who holds himself out as a working-class hero, as a guy who's going to fight for the working class. How does he fight for the working class? By flooding his state and his country with low-wage immigrants," Vance said. El Sayed dismissed the remarks, saying Vance last "made any sense" in 2016 when Vance criticized Donald Trump's presidential bid. "That was the last time he made sense, and then he decided to suck up to power," El Sayed said.
El Sayed challenged Rogers to five debates. "Mike, if you're watching, five debates — but you're a coward, so you probably won't do it," he said. He argued that Republican tactics misread the state's voters. "I know that Michiganders are open-minded. They're big-hearted. They're less interested in how you pray than what you pray for," El Sayed said. "And we all pray for the same things. We want what's good for our kids and our families. We want clean air, clean water, healthcare we can afford. So they're going to use Islamophobia because their ideas are tired. Their economy sucks. They're taking us to war we shouldn't fight. And we have an opportunity to actually focus on bringing us together."
