Mike Rogers is running again for the U.S. Senate in Michigan and is explicitly courting Democrats and Jewish voters who are upset with the party’s nominee, Abdul El‑Sayed. This piece looks at the tight margins from the last race, the bruising Democratic primary, concerns about El‑Sayed’s comments and associates, and how that is shaping voter behavior in a state that will help decide control of the Senate.
Rogers came within about 20,000 votes of winning the Senate seat two years ago and is using that near-miss as proof that this race can be flipped. He is openly appealing to Democrats who feel alienated by their party’s direction and by their nominee’s rhetoric. The pitch is straightforward: vote for stability and security over risky rhetoric.
The Democratic primary left scars after Abdul El‑Sayed beat Rep. Haley Stevens in a close contest, and many moderate Democrats are uneasy about where their party is headed. El‑Sayed’s platform includes Medicare‑for‑all and calls to abolish ICE, positions that energize the left but make centrists nervous. If elected, he would be the nation’s first Muslim senator, a historic milestone that also adds intensity to the debate around his candidacy.
What really troubles some voters is El‑Sayed’s posture on Israel and his public language about the conflict in Gaza. He used the word “bloodthirsty” to characterize Israel’s military moves in Gaza in an MS NOW interview this month and accused Israeli leadership of genocide against Palestinians. He has argued against unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel and has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has the right to exist.
That unease has been amplified by El‑Sayed’s association with controversial online personalities who have harshly criticized Israel. “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m going to be voting for Mike Rogers,” Rabbi Asher Lopatin said as he stood next to Rogers this week. Lopatin added that El‑Sayed “has shown contempt for the Jewish community and, frankly, for American values by making Hasan Piker, a vicious antisemite and racist, his campaign surrogate and somebody he buddies up with.”
Hasan Piker did appear at some of El‑Sayed’s events and publicly endorsed him during the nomination fight, which intensified concerns among Jewish voters. Piker’s presence at the candidate’s primary night party and at a gathering the night before the vote became a rallying point for critics. That association is now central to Rogers’ outreach to Democrats who say they feel unsafe or unheard.
On the ground, several Jewish voters who typically lean Democratic are signaling a willingness to cross party lines. “The Democratic Party is going way too far to the left for us moderates,” Stacy, a Jewish voter from suburban Detroit who asked that only her first name be used, emphasized. Asked specifically about her party’s nominee, Stacy said, “Abdul El‑Sayed has been campaigning by putting a target on all Jews’ backs.”
Some community leaders are circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents to support Rogers as a safeguard. “This is sort of a do-or-die moment,” a person involved with the letter said, capturing the urgency those organizers feel. Not everyone agrees; Joan Lowenstein, endorsement chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, insisted, “We are a part of the Michigan Democratic Party, and are not going to advocate that anyone vote for a Republican,” while acknowledging the deep divisions within the community.
Lowenstein also described the split she hears inside the party: “It’s sort of 50/50. Half the people I talk to say, ‘I could never vote for Abdul El‑Sayed because of things he’s said about Israel and, consequentially, the Jewish community. And the other 50% say ‘it is so important for Jews as Americans to have an Democratic Senate that I could never vote for Mike Rogers.'” Those competing loyalties make this race unusually volatile.
Rogers says he is not asking Democrats to switch parties but to put safety and common sense first. “I’ve talked to two young women who were at University of Michigan who were afraid to walk to class. They couldn’t display their Star of David. To say that they’re afraid is probably an understatement,” he said. Rogers warned that “the violent rhetoric … is going to make a difference” in the general election.
Republicans see a clear opportunity if a substantial share of roughly 70,000 Jewish voters in Michigan defect from the Democratic nominee. If a majority flip, it could create a swing on the order of 100,000 votes in a state decided by narrow margins; Rogers’ prior shortfall of under 20,000 votes makes that math meaningful. “the pitch to these voters is not to abandon their Democrat leanings, but that, in this race at this time, voting for Rogers is a vote for self-preservation. Allowing El‑Sayed to have a voice on the national level would only give more volume to the voices of antisemitism and the far-left progressives,” Michael Schostak said.
El‑Sayed has pushed back and addressed Jewish voters directly, stating, “I stand in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers, and we can condemn antisemitism. And, at the same time, we can be talking about how we bring people together, and we can be talking about everybody’s pain.” His campaign spokeswoman added that “Abdul has always stressed the importance of differentiating between criticizing the state of Israel and antisemitism.”
Some supporters in the Jewish community insist the charges of antisemitism are misplaced and point to personal encounters with El‑Sayed. “I’ve talked to him at length, you know. I’ve met him personally. He attended — he attend — he has attended a service at my synagogue. He attended the Seder on April 2 as well. And there is no doubt in my mind that he is not antisemitic,” Roslyn Schindler said, pushing back on the narrative that has driven defections.
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