Michigan's Mike Rogers Seizes on October 7 Anniversary to Attack El-Sayed

Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers used the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel to attack Democratic rival Abdul El-Sayed, accusing him of spreading antisemitism and sympathizing with terrorists. In a statement Wednesday, Rogers accused El-Sayed of fundraising off October 7, campaigning with progressive commentator Hasan Piker and appearing to sympathize with the attacker who targeted Temple Israel in Michigan earlier this year. "At a time when we especially need to turn the temperature down and stand alongside our Jewish friends and neighbors, he only spreads antisemitism and incites more violence," Rogers said.

The attack is part of Rogers' broader effort to make El-Sayed's views on Israel, Hamas and antisemitism a central issue in the closely watched Michigan Senate race, where Rogers has trailed in polling in the weeks leading up to the November 3 election. El-Sayed and his campaign have not yet commented on the anniversary as of Wednesday morning. Newsweek reached out to El-Sayed's campaign for comment Wednesday.

Antisemitism Has Shadowed the Race Since the Primary El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if elected, has been an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza, which he has described as a genocide, and has called for ending U.

S. military aid to Israel. Rogers' Wednesday attack also revived a controversy from last year's anniversary.

On October 7, 2025, El-Sayed's campaign, which was still in the primary race at the time, sent supporters a fundraising email criticizing Israel's ground invasion of Gaza while making no mention of the Hamas attack that preceded it. A campaign spokesperson said the email "mistakenly went out" the day before. Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow, then one of El-Sayed's primary rivals, called it "beyond tone deaf."

Scrutiny grew over the spring, when El-Sayed rallied at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who had called Orthodox Jews "inbred" and described Zionism as a "mental illness." Michigan Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat and El-Sayed's rival for the Democratic nomination at the time, accused him of "choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric." El-Sayed later put distance between himself and Piker.

Israel also dominated the money in the Democratic primary. The United Democracy Project, AIPAC's largest super PAC, spent a record $30.6 million in this race backing Stevens.

El-Sayed made AIPAC and the tens of millions of dollars spent to support Stevens a centerpiece of his campaign, casting the contest as "the many versus the money." Stevens, in turn, said El-Sayed wants to "blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans." On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas militants fired several thousand rockets into Israel and thousands of militants attacked through holes blown in the border fence or with boats or motorized paragliders.

Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed over 74,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to local health authorities cited by the Associated Press, left the territory in ruins and sparked an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. Polls Show a Tight Race in Michigan Rogers' attack comes as recent polls show El-Sayed holding a narrow edge, with several of the latest surveys putting the race within a single point.

A Quantus Insights poll conducted October 5 to 6 found El-Sayed leading Rogers 48 percent to 47 percent among 744 likely voters. A YouGov survey of 3,947 likely voters, taken September 22 to October 4, showed the same 1-point margin, 49 percent to 48 percent. A Fox News poll, conducted by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research from September 24 to 28, also had El-Sayed up by a point, 50 percent to 49 percent among 1,028 likely voters.

Trafalgar Group, a Republican-leaning firm, found him ahead 47 percent to 45 percent among 1,085 likely voters in a survey taken September 28 to 30. Other polls have given El-Sayed more breathing room. Mitchell Research & Communications found him leading 46 percent to 41 percent among 682 likely voters in an October 1 survey, while Marist University had him up 51 percent to 44 percent among 1,235 registered voters in a poll conducted September 24 to 27.

The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up, while Decision Desk HQ lists it as leaning Democratic. Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the race from "Toss-up" to "Leans Democratic," calling El-Sayed a "soft favorite" over Rogers. Latest Developments in the Michigan Senate Race Between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed The two candidates will meet face to face for the first time Thursday in Grand Rapids, with a second debate set for October 21, moderated by Detroit station WXYZ.

Rogers previewed the matchups on X, writing that Michiganders would "learn just how much of a Conman you really are." El-Sayed has nicknamed his opponent "Mike Dodgers" for ignoring earlier debate challenges. Former President Barack Obama will rally with El-Sayed and Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor, in Detroit on October 24, the Michigan Democratic Party announced Monday.

The rally falls on the first day of in-person early voting in Michigan. The stop takes Obama to Detroit, where El-Sayed struggled in the Democratic primary. Detroit is more than three-quarters Black, and Obama remains highly popular there.

It had been unclear whether Obama would back El-Sayed, who has called the Affordable Care Act, one of Obama's signature achievements, an "incremental" policy. El-Sayed has worked to repair divisions left by the primary. He campaigned over the weekend with Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat who is Jewish.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris also campaigned for him in Michigan last month. El-Sayed has also reached into conservative media. On Monday, he sat for an interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, who pressed him on accepting money from wealthy donors after he had campaigned against corporate money.

The interview came after a contentious 25-minute appearance with Fox News host Jesse Watters, which many media commentators viewed as a strong performance by El-Sayed. The Democratic nominee's appearances on Fox News drew President Donald Trump's anger Tuesday. In his Truth Social post, Trump complained that Fox "spends more time covering the Jihadist and Dumocrat candidates than they do the good old fashioned Republicans."

Why is the Michigan Senate Race Important in the 2026 Midterms? Michigan is one of a handful of states Democrats see as central to retaking control of the Senate in 2027, and the seat is open after Senator Gary Peters announced he would not seek reelection. Republicans are defending a 53-47 Senate majority this November, while Democrats need to flip at least four Republican-held seats without losing any of their own, making Michigan one of the cycle's most closely watched contests.

El-Sayed, who ran for Michigan governor in 2018 and later led the state's health department under Governor Gretchen Whitmer, has positioned himself as part of a newer generation of Democrats willing to break with the party's establishment on economic messaging. Rogers, who represented Michigan in Congress for 14 years before joining the FBI, has leaned on his federal law enforcement background and an endorsement from Trump to make the case that he can hold the seat in Republican hands. Ad spending reflects the stakes.

More money has been spent in Michigan than in any other state where Republicans have a chance to gain a Senate seat, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Spending by El-Sayed, Rogers and allied groups has topped $205 million, according to a review of federal records by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit news organization. Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story.

Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas