Michigan US Senate race: Rogers, El-Sayed urge turnout for critical race

Democratic hopeful Abdul El-Sayed faces a slew of last-minute Islamophobic attacks as he seeks to unseat Trump-backed Republican candidate Mike Rogers.

Republican US Senate candidate Mike Rogers votes during the US midterm elections, in White Lake, Michigan, the United States, November 3, 2026 [Rebecca Cook/Reuters]

Michigan voters are casting their ballots in a charged, closely watched race that could make Democrat Abdul El-Sayed the first Muslim in the United States Senate and help decide control of the chamber.

Mike Rogers, his Republican opponent, cast his ballot at a polling station in White Lake, Michigan hours after polls opened. El-Sayed had already had his vote submitted and counted through an absentee ballot before Election Day.

list 1 of 3 Voting underway in closely contested US midterm elections 2026

list 2 of 3 In Pictures: US midterm elections in 20 photos

list 3 of 3 US midterm voting begins in high-stakes test of Trump’s presidency

The two candidates seek to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters. A final New York Times/Siena poll placed El-Sayed 11 points ahead of Rogers going into the election.

Polls opened at 7am local time (12:00 GMT) and close at 8pm (01:00 GMT on Wednesday). If the race is close, it may not be called until later on Wednesday. The US Department of Justice has announced that election monitors will be present at the polls in Michigan and all 50 other states, a first in US history.

El-Sayed, a Muslim born to Egyptian parents, is the former head of Detroit’s health department and has campaigned on progressive policies such as Medicare for All.

Rogers, a former congressman and close ally of US President Donald Trump, is seeking to come back after a narrow loss to a Democrat in a 2024 Senate race.

Democrats need to gain four seats in Tuesday’s midterm elections to wrest back the Senate from Republicans and rein in Trump. The race is also seen as a test of whether a progressive who openly criticises Israel can win in a swing state.

Both candidates made a final push on social media as voting got under way.

“It’s time. It’s up to us to show the country what’s possible. The world is watching,” El-Sayed wrote, sharing an upbeat campaign video that features former US President Barack Obama.

Rogers posted a video that featured interviews with supporters, one of whom called El-Sayed an “extremist”.

“We have a state to save”, the post read.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gave a firm endorsement of El-Sayed after casting his own ballot in New York’s race.

“There are millions of Michiganders whose number one issue is getting their costs down,” said Schumer.

“Abdul El-Sayed is … talking to the people about those issues and doing things about them … He is going to win tonight because he’s talking about what Michiganders care about.”

The El-Sayed campaign’s final days were overshadowed by a rift with Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a fellow Democrat whom El-Sayed narrowly defeated in a primary election in August.

On Sunday, Stevens endorsed Rogers , saying she was “choosing country over hate” and capping off a weeks-long row about El-Sayed’s opposition to US support for Israel.

Stevens is a staunch supporter of Israel, and the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spent more than $30m backing her against El-Sayed. A majority of her large donors lined up to support Rogers after her loss, channeling $9m into a Republican group that supports him, according to The New York Times.

El-Sayed, by contrast, has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and argued that US aid to Israel would be better spent at home.

Asked by NewsNation on her way in to vote for Rogers whether her change in support was worth it, Stevens replied: “Absolutely. Voting is always worth it, right?”

Senate leader Schumer, who had initially backed Stevens, was asked whether her defection could hand the election to Republicans. “Haley Stevens is one vote,” he replied.

Islamophobic attacks

El-Sayed, the Michigan-born son of Egyptian immigrants, has faced persistent attacks on his faith. Republican Party ads have sought to link him to “terrorism” and radicalism, with Trump joining in the inflammatory rhetoric.

The US president has repeatedly called El-Sayed a “jihadist” and a “nasty guy”, mocking his name and repeating an unfounded, widely circulated Republican claim that he belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hours before polls opened, Trump once again took aim at El-Sayed, this time in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“Abdul El-Sayed Hates Jews and Hates Blacks. Don’t feel bad, he also Hates Whites. Only fools would vote for him in the Michigan race for the U.S. Senate! He will, 100%, do you in! VOTE FOR MIKE ROGERS,” Trump wrote.

The US president also mentioned El-Sayed in a Fox News interview early on Election Day, when he said annual US financial aid to Israel should stop at the end of 2026.

“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they [Israel] don’t need it?” he said.

民主党候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德在竞选期间遭遇了一系列针对伊斯兰恐惧症患者的最后时刻的攻击，他正努力击败特朗普支持的共和党候选人迈克·罗杰斯。

美国共和党参议员候选人迈克·罗杰斯于2026年11月3日在美国密歇根州白湖参加美国中期选举投票。[Rebecca Cook/路透社]

密歇根州的选民正在投票表决一场充满争议、备受关注的选举，这场选举可能使民主党候选人阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德成为美国参议院第一位穆斯林议员，并有助于决定参议院的控制权。

他的共和党对手迈克·罗杰斯在投票站开放数小时后才前往密歇根州白湖的一个投票站投票。而埃尔-赛义德的选票已于选举日之前通过缺席投票方式提交并计入。

列表 1/3：2026 年美国中期选举投票正在进行中，竞争激烈

图集（共3集）之二：20张照片带你了解美国中期选举

美国中期选举投票开始，对特朗普总统任期进行高风险考验（列表3/3）

两位候选人都希望填补即将退休的民主党参议员加里·彼得斯的席位。纽约时报/锡耶纳学院联合进行的最终民调显示，埃尔-赛义德在选举前领先罗杰斯11个百分点。

投票站于当地时间早上7点（格林尼治标准时间12:00）开放，晚上8点（格林尼治标准时间周三凌晨1:00）关闭。如果选情胶着，可能要到周三晚些时候才能公布结果。美国司法部宣布，将在密歇根州和其他所有50个州的投票站安排选举监督员，这在美国历史上尚属首次。

埃尔-赛义德是一位出生于埃及家庭的穆斯林，曾任底特律卫生部门负责人，并积极推行全民医保等进步政策。

罗杰斯曾任国会议员，是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的亲密盟友。在2024年的参议院竞选中，他以微弱劣势输给了民主党候选人，如今他正寻求重返政坛。

民主党需要在周二的中期选举中赢得四个席位，才能从共和党手中夺回参议院的控制权，并遏制特朗普。此次选举也被视为对一位公开批评以色列的进步派候选人能否在摇摆州获胜的一次考验。

投票开始后，两位候选人都在社交媒体上进行了最后的冲刺。

“时机已到。我们有责任向全国展示什么是可能的。全世界都在关注，”埃尔-赛义德写道，并分享了一段振奋人心的竞选视频，视频中有美国前总统巴拉克·奥巴马的身影。

罗杰斯发布了一段视频，其中包含对支持者的采访，其中一位支持者称埃尔-赛义德为“极端分子”。

帖子写道：“我们还有州要拯救。”

民主党参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默在纽约州选举中投完票后，坚定地支持埃尔-赛义德。

舒默说：“数百万密歇根州居民最关心的问题就是降低生活成本。”

“阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德正在……与民众谈论这些问题，并采取实际行动来解决这些问题……他今晚会赢，因为他谈论的是密歇根州人民关心的事情。”

埃尔-赛义德竞选活动的最后几天，因与国会女议员海莉·史蒂文斯（同为民主党人，埃尔-赛义德在 8 月的初选中以微弱优势击败）的决裂而蒙上阴影。

周日，史蒂文斯公开支持罗杰斯，称她“选择国家而非仇恨”，结束了长达数周的关于埃尔-赛义德反对美国支持以色列的争论。

史蒂文斯是坚定的以色列支持者，亲以色列游说团体美国以色列公共事务委员会（AIPAC）花费超过3000万美元支持她对抗埃尔-赛义德。据《纽约时报》报道，在她败选后，她的大部分大金主转而支持罗杰斯，向一个支持罗杰斯的共和党团体输送了900万美元。

相比之下，埃尔-赛义德指责以色列在加沙犯下种族灭绝罪行，并认为美国对以色列的援助应该更好地用于国内。

在前往投票站投票给罗杰斯的路上，NewsNation 询问史蒂文斯，她改变支持罗杰斯的决定是否值得，史蒂文斯回答说：“当然值得。投票总是值得的，对吧？”

参议院多数党领袖舒默最初支持史蒂文斯，当被问及她的倒戈是否会让共和党赢得选举时，他回答说：“海莉·史蒂文斯只占一票。”

仇视伊斯兰教的袭击

出生于密歇根州的埃尔-赛义德是埃及移民之子，他的信仰一直受到攻击。共和党的广告试图将他与“恐怖主义”和极端主义联系起来，特朗普也加入了煽动性言论的行列。

美国总统多次称埃尔-赛义德为“圣战分子”和“讨厌的家伙”，嘲笑他的名字，并重复共和党广泛流传的毫无根据的说法，即他属于穆斯林兄弟会。

在投票开始前几个小时，特朗普再次将矛头指向埃尔-赛义德，这次是在他的 Truth Social 平台上发帖。

“阿卜杜勒·赛义德仇恨犹太人和黑人。别难过，他也仇恨白人。只有傻瓜才会投票给他参加密歇根州的美国参议员竞选！他肯定会害了你！投票给迈克·罗杰斯！”特朗普写道。

美国总统在选举日当天早些时候接受福克斯新闻采访时也提到了埃尔-赛义德，当时他说美国对以色列的年度财政援助应该在 2026 年底停止。

他说：“以色列根本不需要承受像埃尔-赛义德这样的疯子的攻击，我们为什么要承受呢？”