Mike Rogers Tells Breitbart Democrats Are Crossing Over in Michigan and Presses His Muslim Brotherhood Case Against El-Sayed
In a Saturday radio interview the Republican Senate nominee laid out his final-stretch plan: seven million doors knocked, a bus tour, and a bet that 40,000 to 50,000 Democrats will vote for him. He repeated charges El-Sayed has denied.
Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, used an interview on Breitbart News Saturday to describe how he thinks he beats Democrat Abdul El-Sayed on Nov. 3.
The path to a win. Rogers says the race will come down to 30,000 to 40,000 votes. His plan, as Breitbart reports it, has three parts. He says about 7 million doors have been knocked since last year. He expects 40,000 to 50,000 Democrats to vote for him while still backing Democrats down the ballot. He also hopes to win roughly half of about 70,000 Jewish Democratic voters and 10,000 to 20,000 new African American votes. He says his campaign is doing well in Detroit, Pontiac and Flint without expecting to carry Detroit or Pontiac. A statewide bus tour is under way.
Democrats who have broken with El-Sayed. Rogers named former Michigan Democratic Party chairman Lon Johnson and his wife, who wrote that they will not vote for El-Sayed, as well as CNN commentator Van Jones and a Democratic senator from New Jersey. He also cited a Saginaw County sheriff who endorsed him. Those accounts are Rogers' description of the criticism, not quotes we checked.
His case against El-Sayed. Rogers pointed to a 2012 letter El-Sayed signed concerning Egypt's then-president Mohamed Morsi, and to El-Sayed's earlier role in the University of Michigan Muslim Student Association. He said the Muslim Brotherhood celebrated El-Sayed's August primary win. He alleged that donors tied to Hamas and Hezbollah support the campaign and that the Council on American-Islamic Relations has sent about $400,000. He also said El-Sayed would not condemn Iran's Revolutionary Guard and that he cannot be called a practicing physician because he did not complete a residency.
El-Sayed's answer. El-Sayed has denied any ties. In a Fox video titled "Abdul El-Sayed: I have never been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and never will be," he rejected the charge.
Note for readers: this is one candidate's account of his opponent in a friendly interview. The donation figures and the charges about donors are Rogers' allegations, and Breitbart's summary does not offer evidence for them. We did not verify them.