Opinion: David Marcus Names Five Factors That Could Decide Michigan's Tight Senate Race
The columnist says temperament, ground game, Trump's Oct. 25 rally, El-Sayed's Muslim Brotherhood ties and tonight's debate could swing Mike Rogers against Abdul El-Sayed with two weeks to go.
This is a summary of an opinion column. The views belong to David Marcus, not to RightNewsRightNow.
Marcus calls the Michigan Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed the marquee matchup of the midterms. He sees it as a test of whether the far left can compete in middle America and as a referendum on President Trump. He lists five factors that he says could tip it.
- Temperament. Voters he spoke to saw the candidates' styles in opposite ways. A Detroit city worker named Leon said El-Sayed "comes off arrogant," while younger voters in Grand Rapids called the same manner "confidence." Marcus jokes that Rogers is the calm, wealthy conservative uncle and El-Sayed the new college boyfriend lecturing about capitalism.
- Ground game. Marcus says El-Sayed's one-point primary win over Haley Stevens, despite polls showing him far ahead, came from a strong far-left field operation, particularly Democratic Socialists of America groups in places like Dearborn. He quotes Tiffany Justice of Citizen's Alliance saying working-class conservatives need "a neighbor knocking on their door" more than a TV ad, and he urges Republicans to shift money toward that.
- Trump. El-Sayed dared Trump to campaign in Michigan, and Trump has scheduled a rally for Sunday, Oct. 25, a day after Barack Obama is set to rally with El-Sayed. Marcus says the rally will bring out MAGA voters but could put off independents. He notes Rogers has distanced himself from Trump on Iran and on the Canadian tariff fight without any blowback.
- The Muslim Brotherhood. Marcus says El-Sayed's family ties to the group, and his past statements in support of it, are now central to the race, even after what Marcus calls a "sort of" disavowal at a town hall. He says the riots in France hang over this issue and that Americans are looking at Europe as a warning about immigration without assimilation.
- The debate. Rogers and El-Sayed meet Wednesday for their second and final debate. Marcus says one viral moment could matter, and asks whether El-Sayed can press hard without sounding condescending.
His conclusion. With two weeks left, he writes, the race "sits on a knife's edge."
Note for readers: these are Marcus's views and characterizations. We have not checked the polling, the rally dates or El-Sayed's statements ourselves. The column does not include a response from the El-Sayed campaign.