Oct. 30, 2026 | This Week in Government: El-Sayed, Rogers US Senate Slugfest Comes Down to Wire, Unclear Who Will Have Final Edge

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From the airwaves to a pair of debates, from campaign rallies and social media bomb-throwing, Michigan’s U.S. Senate race has been the center of the state’s, even the nation’s, political universe for months.

It’s almost over. And for voters bombarded by non-stop advertisements as the heavyweight bout between Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers completes its final round, the thought after almost $260 million in advertising just since the primary is likely, “thank heavens”, and probably in more colorful language.

With more than $360 million in ad spending for the entire cycle, including the primary, the more than 90-day knock-down, drag-out fight, scorched earth spectacle that marked this key battle for control of the U.S. Senate has been historic both in overall spending and vitriol between both candidates and their respective camps.

Regardless of who wins, both parties will have long-term work to do.

Democrats will have some soul-searching in addressing a split between the establishment and progressive wings of their party. This was sparked by the bitter primary between El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, that blew up over their differing views on the Israel-Hamas conflict that could have an effect on the party’s relationship with the Jewish community which has traditionally largely been in their corner.

Republicans will need to find ways to get less-involved voters who have come out three times for President Donald Trump to become regular voters while also addressing what some consider to be damage done by a wave of sharp, Islamophobic rhetoric against El-Sayed that could upend inroads the GOP has made with the state’s Arab American community.

In what is expected to be an extremely close race, the split among Jewish voters, the possible backlash among Arab American and Muslim voters, and Rogers’ attempts to make some inroads among Black voters in Detroit are expected to loom large come Tuesday.

Democrats across the state and country are seen as having the advantage in a political environment where Republicans are struggling over blame for rising prices, Trump’s tariff policies and agenda that has seemed to have stymied enthusiasm on their side.

According to AdImpact, ad spending in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race is now the eighth most expensive non-presidential race in history. It is, by far, the most expensive non-presidential race in Michigan history.

Rogers was elected to the U.S. House in 2000 and served until leaving office at the end of 2014. He was chair of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee from 2011 until he left office. He served in the state Senate from 1995-2000.

Before seeking public office, Rogers served in the U.S. Army and then became a special agent with the FBI. After leaving Congress, he worked in roles within the cybersecurity industry and was a guest commentator on CNN.

Rogers ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024, narrowly losing to now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, by 19,006 votes, or 0.34%.

El-Sayed was Director of the Detroit Health Department from 2015-17 before running for governor. He took 30.2% of the vote and finished second in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2018 to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

He was serving as Director and Health officer for the Wayne County Department of Health, Human, and Veterans Services until he resigned to run for U.S. Senate. He’s also an author and hosted a podcast prior to running.

Candidates Going After Each Other on the Stump, Debates

There has been no love lost between El-Sayed and Rogers during the general election brawl, with both candidates immediately going straight for the jugular in the hours after the Democratic primary was decided.

Republicans immediately sought to label El-Sayed as “radical” for his positions on healthcare, the Israel-Hamas conflict, on energy policy, and being soft on crime.

From Day 1, Rogers and the GOP began bombarding El-Sayed with accusations of being aligned with extremist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

The attacks stem from a 2011 column El-Sayed wrote while working as an Associate Professor at Columbia University about the Egyptian revolution.

The 2011 revolution began with a wave of protests which led to the country’s military to remove then-President Hosni Mubarak from power. El-Sayed’s column urged the United States to support the protestors. The column does not express support for the Muslim Brotherhood but discussed the concerns leaders had at the time over whether Mubarak’s downfall might lead to the group taking power.

Other attacks against El-Sayed have included claims that he does not like Mackinac Island, does not like football and over the euthanasia rate of animals in Detroit during his time as the city’s health director.

Rogers renewed attacks of his opponent being extreme on Monday while speaking to nearly 70 people at Wagon Wheel American Grill in Portland.

“Now this isn’t about left or right, it’s not even about red or blue: this really is about the heart and soul of our country and who we want to be, and the kind of state and country we want to hand off to our kids,” Rogers said.

Rogers called it disgusting to be running against an opponent “who hangs out with people that believes we deserved 9/11,” drawing jeers from supporters.

He was referencing liberal Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who appeared with El-Sayed multiple times on the campaign trail during the primary. Piker has drawn controversy over the 9/11 remarks, which he walked back years ago, as well as past comments considered antisemitic and misogynistic.

Rogers also took a swipe at El-Sayed’s support for Medicare for All, noting a previous campaign attack saying that El-Sayed’s wife does not accept Medicare at her medical practice.

“So the real doctor in the family won’t take Medicare, but the fake doctor is telling you you’re all going to be on Medicare,” Rogers said. “I don’t know about you all, that seems like a problem to me.”

Rogers said his opponent is “the most extreme, most radical candidate on the ballot in the country.”

When asked by Gongwer News Service following Monday’s event what is different now compared to his run two years ago, Rogers said not having a competitive primary helped him build his ground game and focus on key areas of the state, especially his ramped-up outreach into Detroit and Pontiac.

“All the attention was on the two candidates slugging it out in the Democrat primary,” Rogers said. “We built a huge ground game, and we’re now including our new coalitions.”

He cited his outreach to Jewish voters and his Democrats for Mike Rogers group.

Rogers also stressed his crossover appeal given what he called the extreme positions of his opponent.

“The former chair of the Democrat Party in Michigan came out and said he cannot vote for Abdul El-Sayed. He’s too extreme,” Rogers said, referencing Lon Johnson, the party chair from 2013-15. “Which explains why you’re seeing all of these Democrat elected officials either coming out and endorsing us or saying they just can’t vote for Abdul El-Sayed. That’s very, very different than anything we’ve ever seen in any election in this state, let alone one that’s this big.”

Few current Democratic elected officials have endorsed Rogers. The Saginaw County sheriff, William Federspiel, was a Democrat when he announced his endorsement of Rogers but then announced days later he was leaving the party. Rep. Karen Whitsett was elected to her seat as a Democrat but has been estranged from the party for years.

However, many significant Democratic donors and other players have said they will support Rogers. And some current and former Democratic elected officials have declined to endorse El-Sayed.

El-Sayed and the Democrats have also thrown haymakers during the race, seeking to tie Rogers to Trump and his policies. On the campaign trail he often refers to Rogers as a “bootlicker” or “sock puppet” for Trump.

He too has hit his opponent in personal terms, at one point during an Aug. 26 rally in Farmington Hills questioning Rogers’ efforts to remain in lockstep with Trump.

“It’s one thing to be an idiot,” El-Sayed said. “It’s another so entirely to be so small as a human being as to know the other person is an idiot and do what they want anyway, because all you want is power.”

The El-Sayed campaign has also gone after Rogers for changing his stance on multiple issues over the past month. These include a call for a suspension of the state and federal gasoline taxes and pulling back on tariffs Trump placed on Canadian goods due to their impact on the automobile industry. Rogers has also urged a winding down of the Iran war.

A common attack against Rogers has been over his receiving significant campaign donations from pharmaceutical companies during his time in Congress. El-Sayed has also accused Rogers of contributing to the opioid crisis nationally through votes on healthcare legislation as well as overall being highly favorable to the pharmaceutical industry.

“And now he’s back for another swing through the revolving door to try to make more money off the rest of us,” El-Sayed told a crowd of more than 300 inside Grewal Hall in downtown Lansing on Sept. 11. “He is captured and corporate and a coward, and when the question comes about our ability to live our lives, our ability to afford our groceries or our gas or our housing, he will be nowhere to be found.”

The attacks on Rogers date back to his 2024 U.S. Senate campaign, during which Democrats and opponents repeatedly called him one of many members of Congress years ago who contributed to the opioid crisis.

During his 2024 campaign, Rogers explained that his brother had suffered chronic pain due to back surgeries and at one point told reporters that he was trying to help those with serious chronic pain to have access to drugs that would provide some relief.

The hostility extended to the two U.S. Senate debates held earlier this month. Following the first debate Oct. 8 at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Rogers took a swipe at El-Sayed, calling him “an absolute lightweight on policy.” In his rebuttal to Rogers when asked about the remark, El-Sayed scoffed at the dig.

“What did his healthcare book say?” El-Sayed said. “He didn’t write one. He couldn’t write it. Lightweight? I actually write my ideas out.”

Following the first debate, El-Sayed was asked by reporters why he had not pushed back on Rogers’ attacks alleging him to have ties to extremist groups. He said he would not dignify such attacks with a response.

El-Sayed reversed course during the Oct. 21 debate held at WXYZ-TV in Southfield after Rogers repeated the attacks.

“To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you,” El-Sayed said. “I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray. And the question that you would ask that, I think, is actually quite shameful, as somebody who’s actually served under that Constitution, it is shameful.”

Rogers replied to this rebuke by saying anyone can pray as they wish, but that his point was that the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood was dangerous and is banned in several countries and is of concern among law enforcement in the U.S as well.

A constellation of Republican organizations has inundated voter mailboxes with all manner of attempts to tie El-Sayed to everything from the Muslim Brotherhood to an adherence to Sharia law. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said El-Sayed sleeps with a bin Laden jersey, referencing the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Republicans have repeatedly called El-Sayed by his full name in an apparent effort to emphasize his religion.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel, interviewed this week on the MichMash podcast that airs Friday, called the campaign against El-Sayed the most overtly racist campaign he had ever seen.

Divisive Dem Primary Raises Questions Over Support From Jewish Voters, Black Detroiters

To say El-Sayed’s platform speeches and rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas conflict has roiled Jewish voters in Michigan, a traditionally Democratic-heavy voting bloc, would be an understatement.

Jewish criticism of El-Sayed centers on these factors:

• Repeatedly refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist as the Jewish national homeland;
• Repeatedly attacking the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee’s political contributions; and
• His comments about the terror attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. He strongly condemned the attack but then also spoke of how the attacker had family members killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and that “hurt people hurt people.” El-Sayed apologized after the primary for making the remark.

Some Jews, perhaps most prominently former U.S. Reps. Sander and Andy Levin, have endorsed El-Sayed. But others, like Sen. Jeremy Moss of Bloomfield Township and Rep. Noah Arbit of West Bloomfield have not. Longtime former Sen. Gilda Jacobs recently said she didn’t know if she could vote for El-Sayed. Attorney General Dana Nessel said she would vote for El-Sayed but sounded deeply pained to do so.

In August, a coalition of Jewish residents and leaders, Michigan Jews Against Extremism, was formed. As of this week 561 Democrats and independents had signed the letter, voicing their support for Rogers.

Since then, another coalition of Jewish leaders put out a letter in support of El-Sayed, while another group, Nonnegotiable Michigan, has repeatedly urged El-Sayed to engage with them and address their concerns, which they said has gone unanswered.

Dan Cherrin, founder of North Coast Strategies, was among the early signees of the letter supporting Rogers.

He said between the rhetoric and policies of El-Sayed and the policies of the Trump administration, Jewish voters have had difficulty grappling with where they will land.

“There are those … who will vote for El-Sayed no matter what,” Cherrin said.

Others, like himself, are voting for Rogers over concerns about how their community is being presented by El-Sayed in the race.

While the El-Sayed concerns are significant, Cherrin added that “Rogers has not done himself any favors” as he has not moderated his stances post-primary, either.

Rogers has done outreach to the Jewish community and has been more sincere in those efforts, Cherrin said.

For El-Sayed “there’s no wiggle room” for him with where he stands, Cherrin said, adding that he has not been willing to budge or take people’s concerns into account.

Cherrin also pointed to the Rebellion PAC ad that began running last weekend from a liberal group, featuring a couple in a grocery store discussing costs before pivoting to claims of Israel being responsible for rising prices. He called such advertising “a nail in the coffin” for some remaining undecided Jewish voters.

He said there are many constituencies within the electorate, but the Jewish population is very active and important to engage with.

“We’re one factor. We’re a big factor because our community votes,” Cherrin said.

Following the election, Cherrin said his hope is that the Democratic Party takes a hard look at the impact of the rhetoric during the current campaign and the concerns of the Jewish community. He also had another hope for whoever wins the U.S. Senate race.

“I just hope both candidates, whoever wins the election, learns from the election and will be open to tough conversations on important issues,” Cherrin said.

Decky Alexander, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Jewish Caucus, said there is still a level of indecision among a part of the Jewish electorate.

She noted that a week out from the election she was still involved in hosting events for undecided Jewish voters, which she could not recall still occurring in past elections.

“They still don’t know what to do. They’re going back and forth,” Alexander said.

Despite making up between 1-2% of the population, she said about 70-80% of Jewish voters typically vote Democratic and they are an important part of the party’s coalition, especially in close races.

Since the August primary, Alexander said she has spoken frequently with the El-Sayed campaign, outlining what the key asks are from Jewish voters such as what he should not be saying and doing on the campaign trail as well as working toward the public apology and reconciliation efforts that have occurred. Conversations with various Jewish groups have also occurred. The El-Sayed campaign also hired a Jewish liaison.

Alexander said there has been progress made post-primary.

“I think they’ve made a valiant effort,” Alexander said while adding that “I’m not sure that the messages … are being heard by the campaign.”

Personally, Alexander said she is voting for El-Sayed.

“I like to vote for consistency over chaos,” Alexander said, citing the policies of Trump’s administration. “There’s a lot of people like that in my camp.”

She said El-Sayed has very set views on the Israel-Hamas conflict and foreign policy which he has not moderated. This has fueled the ongoing concerns among Jewish voters.

“I’m not sure there’s anything that he could do or say that could appease everybody,” Alexander said.

Another constituency where support may be soft for El-Sayed is the Black vote, particularly in Detroit, which is critical for any Democratic statewide candidate to earn by a large margin.

While Republicans have in past election cycles have sought to make inroads in Detroit, none have made much of a dent outside of some small gains by Trump in his presidential campaigns.

Andrea Bitely, founder of Bitely Communications, said Rogers has spent more time in Detroit than El-Sayed, and that is something the Democrat likely will need to focus more on in the final days of the race. The race is an absolute dogfight to the end, she added.

“There’s not a mud puddle left in the state of Michigan,” Bitely said. “This is a very, very heavy mudslinging contest going on.”

Harbor Strategic Public Affairs CEO John Sellek was impressed with Rogers’ outreach in Detroit.

“We’ve never seen a Republican U.S. Senate candidate spend this much time in Detroit,” Sellek said.

Rogers will not win in Detroit, but even getting 12-15% of the Black vote would be huge and put El-Sayed in a bind to find enough votes to win, Sellek said. Slotkin took 88% of the vote in the city two years ago.

John Truscott, Chief Executive Officer of Truscott Rossman, said with the issues El-Sayed has had in outreach to Black voters in Detroit and with the Jewish community, it is an uphill struggle for the Democrat.

“I don’t see how Abdul El-Sayed pulls it off,” Truscott said.

Truscott said Republicans tend to get 10% or less of the Black vote in Detroit. But Rogers has been campaigning hard in Detroit and Pontiac and likely will make some inroads.

It’s often a biennial refrain from Republicans about making inroads in Detroit. But success has been limited as the city’s voters usually come home to vote Democratic.

Democratic leaders in Detroit do not see Rogers being able to do more than nibble around the margins and feel that El-Sayed should do well in the city next week.

13th Congressional District Democratic Party Chair Jonathan Kinloch said while Rogers has been working hard in Detroit, El-Sayed has been making the rounds in the city that he needs to make to ensure he has the base on his side.

“There’s always been an attempt to do that,” Kinloch said of Republicans trying to make some inroads around the margins in Detroit.

Kinloch said the early numbers so far for Detroit absentee and early voting are good and Democrats need to keep up the momentum.

“The Democratic Party has stepped on the gas,” Kinloch said. “Detroit has shown itself to be a stronghold for Democrats.”

The push from Democrats to turn out the vote and bring in leaders including former President Barack Obama needs to continue through election day. Kinloch said he felt that at the end of the day, the Black vote will come out largely for El-Sayed.

While there have been issues historically in Detroit between the Black and Arab American community, Kinloch said there has been much work done over recent years to build coalitions and try to address those issues. He said the issues pre-date El-Sayed and should not be a significant barrier for him come election day.

Ideally, Detroit turnout would be at least 45% on election day, he said, adding that higher turnout bodes well for Democrats.

Both Sides See Backlash Against GOP Among Arab American Community Coming Over El-Sayed Attacks

One area with some bipartisan consensus in Southeast Michigan is over the possibility of serious damage to the Republican brand among the Arab American and Muslim communities over the deluge of attacks labeling El-Sayed as having ties to extremist groups.

Trump took 42.48% of the vote in Dearborn in 2024 while taking 44.04% in Dearborn Heights and 42.7% in Hamtramck. The percentages showed sharp inroads among Arab American and Muslim voters.

By comparison, Joe Biden in 2020 defeated Trump by wide margins in those communities.

Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, said the attacks against El-Sayed regarding extremist groups are falling flat.

“When you’re paying $6 at the pump, you’re not thinking about the religion or ethnicity of the guy who’s saying he wants to lower prices,” Farhat said.

He also said the attacks are coming at a time when Trump and D.C. Republican policies are failing. Farhat added that the attacks are meant to suppress turnout among Democratic and Arab American voters while scaring Republican voters into going to the polls.

Farhat said to expect “a hard rebuke of them” from the Muslim and Arab American community at the polls next week.

He also called Rogers a failed candidate following the policies of a failed president. He said Rogers has changed his tune on numerous issues over the last several months and year, saying he changed his opinion on whether Trump lost the 2020 election and has shifted on tariffs and the Iran war when they became unpopular.

“Flip-flopper Florida man Mike Rogers,” Farhat called Rogers.

Farhat said Rogers was in support of the 1999 law that passed the state Legislature that took away the Detroit school district control of the board. He said Rogers does not have Detroiters in mind while seeking to make inroads in the city.

Hassan Nemhe of Dearborn Heights, the Republican candidate for the 15th House District, said the rhetoric by Republicans toward the Arab American community this election cycle had killed years of momentum for the GOP.

Nemhe was the Michigan Republican Party’s vice chair of coalitions during the 2024 election cycle. He said he has worked hard within GOP circles for several years to help build support among Arab Americans in Southeast Michigan.

“It took a lot of work and in one single move they just shut us down,” Nehme said.

Nehme said there is a sense of betrayal within members of the community who were willing to trust Trump and the GOP and sided with them in 2024.

“Trump never would have won if not for my community,” Nehme said.

Nehme said it will be a long-term project to try and rebuild trust within the Arab American and Muslim community toward Republicans. He said he has already been laying groundwork for being involved with the state party next cycle, as a vice-chair, to try and reverse the course taken by the party toward his community.

Nehme said politically he understands why the party would want to unite party faithful, after El-Sayed’s primary win, against a “common enemy” of sorts, but the rhetoric has totally crashed the party’s support among Arab Americans and Muslims.

“It’s a loser long-term,” Nehme.

Politicos See Tight Race, Candidates Facing Complex Paths to Victory

Among political consultants following the race, the candidates have their respective strengths and weaknesses headed into Election Day.

Sellek said there is a sharp contrast with how El-Sayed is performing in earning the votes of independents versus Jocelyn Benson. Republicans are seizing on that to try and win the Michigan seat because they see the difficulty they’re having in other states under the current environment.

“They look at Michigan … this is the place where they have this opportunity,” Sellek said.

El-Sayed, due to his stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict during the primary, is seeing a significant bleed in support among the Jewish community. Among Black voters in Detroit, his support is also a bit soft. It’s not unusual, however, for a statewide Democratic nominee to poll much lower in Detroit than their final performance.

“He’s trying to deal with people who are uncertain,” Sellek said.

The closeness of the race is evident in how both candidates have been working to find more votes, Sellek said.

Rogers has been in Detroit frequently, while El-Sayed has focused on college towns and lakeshore communities in the western part of the state where he performed best during the primary.

“Abdul El-Sayed is a celebrity in a way that Mike Rogers is not,” Sellek said.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have been to Michigan, desperately trying to shore up parts of the Republican coalition who are not as active voters when Trump is not on the ballot.

Adrian Hemond, Chief Executive Officer of Grassroots Midwest, said El-Sayed has the built-in advantage coming into the race given the economic downturn and rising prices stemming from Trump’s war with Iran and tariff policies.

The race will be much closer than the gubernatorial race, but Hemond said everyone’s view of the elections is through the economic lens at this stage.

Given the closeness of the race, both candidates are seeking to make a play into the other party’s base. Rogers will make some inroads with Jewish voters and to a lesser extent Black voters in Detroit.

“There’s a reason that El-Sayed has been campaigning in the Upper Peninsula and has AOC with him,” Hemond said. “He’s looking to get some Trump voters.”

This race is all about El-Sayed, he added, like 2016 when the race was all about Trump.

“Mike Rogers is the B-side of this race,” Hemond said. “Rogers has to put up Donald Trump numbers in Detroit if he’s going to win.”

The ugliness of the race was on full display during the first debate, which at times dissolved into the two talking over each other and arguing at length while the moderator sought to get them both back on the rails.

Hemond said the behavior of the candidates was so ugly that, for some undecided voters who tuned in there is a risk of some of them deciding to not fill in the U.S. Senate part of their ballots and just saying, “fuck the both of them.”

With the level of negative advertising bombarding the public, Hemond said it is past the point of various attacks really landing in the minds of most voters.

Bitely said it still is a tough race to get a feel for. In 2024, it seemed as though then-Vice President Kamala Harris had momentum, only for a quiet portion of the Republican base to show up at the end for Trump.

“You know there’s people who are really excited about having a millennial being elected to the U.S. Senate,” Bitely said.

The question is whether that is enough for El-Sayed, she said, adding that while the younger, urban population may be siding with him, Michigan is an older, whiter state demographically which could ultimately favor Rogers.

There are things from both candidates’ supporters that she said she would like to not see happening.

Bitely said some of the attacks from conservative Super PACs she personally finds to be “gross,” but they likely are being pushed because they are seen as effective.

“The Republicans that are going very close to calling Abdul El-Sayed a terrorist, that’s pretty close to being a third rail for me,” Bitely said.

For El-Sayed, she said his personality on social media and in his attacks can be somewhat off-putting as well.

Truscott said he has never seen anything quite like the current U.S. Senate race in his decades in politics.

He added that with each passing day, a key issue for El-Sayed is he loses more Jewish voters, who have been very vocal with their concerns and willing to outline them to the press.

“They’ve given him an opening,” Truscott said of Nonnegotiable Michigan’s concerns they put forward as a baseline for engaging with them. “He hasn’t addressed any of them. … He’s obviously not changing who he is.”

Rogers began the general election season by hitting El-Sayed hard to try and define his opponent. He said Rogers needs to continue doing that.

As for El-Sayed, he has sought to paint Rogers as out of touch, doing more of that would have been more effective.

The race is going to be close and won by whoever turns out just enough voters who see the importance of its outcome.

“This impacts a lot in terms of the future of the country,” Truscott said.

As Michiganders prepare to head to the polls, affordability and reducing political corruption are among their top priorities, a new poll shows.

The survey, released Thursday by Michigan State University’s Department of Political Science, found economic issues are at the forefront for likely voters as Election Day approaches and that Democrats have an edge in races for governor and the U.S. Senate.

Most of the likely voters surveyed said they think Michigan has fallen behind other states over the last 10 years on typical household income and overall quality of life. Nearly 48.6% of respondents said they are worse off financially than they were a year ago.

As likely voters express economic concerns, they’re also supporting Democratic candidates in key upcoming races to decide Michigan’s next governor and U.S. senator, the poll found.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson had the support of 48.5% of likely voters, compared to Republican candidate John James’ 38.7%, according to the poll. That survey, with a 3.3% margin of error, found 9.6% of voters were undecided.

Benson leads James by 7.9 points in Real Clear Politics’ average of polls from Sept. 24 to Oct. 27.

In the U.S. Senate race pitting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, El-Sayed was favored by 48% of likely voters compared to 41.8% supporting Rogers and 6% undecided, the poll showed. The margin of error was 2.9% in that matchup.

Real Clear Politics’ average of polls in that race shows El-Sayed with a 3.2-point advantage in polls between Sept. 28 and Oct. 27.

Corwin Smidt, an associate professor at MSU’s Department of Political Science, led the October survey of 1,400 likely Michigan voters.

“Along with being helpful to know who wins or why, this poll focuses on what is unifying our voters and, going forward, what we can work together on with shared beliefs and values,” Smidt said in a statement.

Asked about their top priorities for Michigan’s next governor and Legislature, 59.7% chose lowering the cost of living and making Michigan more affordable; and 29% pointed to “reducing political corruption and the ineffectiveness of state government.”

More than 85% of the voters surveyed said they agree that “wealthy people and corporations have too much influence over government and politics.”

About 29.5% of likely voters surveyed rated President Donald Trump’s performance as good or excellent.

Respondents were also asked about their views on data center development. Nearly 60% of respondents said they think allowing large-scale data centers in Michigan presents more risk than opportunity, with about 15% saying there’s more opportunity than risk.

Spending on political advertising in Michigan for the 2026 election cycle has now surpassed $700 million, data from AdImpact shows.

The total will not reach the $1 billion AdImpact projected at the beginning of the election cycle, but it will still put Michigan near the top of all states in campaign spending this cycle.

Almost half the spending comes from just the U.S. Senate race, an astounding $344 million. That shatters the $222 million spent on the 2024 U.S. Senate race.

A huge amount of advertising is blitzing the state in the final week. Data from AdImpact shows that $120 million in advertising is reserved, with $63 million supporting Republican candidates and $57 million supporting Democratic candidates. Some $48 million is for the U.S. Senate, $27 million backing Republican Mike Rogers and $21 million supporting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

There’s $11 million reserved for the governor’s race, $8 million for Democratic nominee Jocelyn Benson and $3 million for Republican nominee John James.

Huge sums also are getting spent in the three heated U.S. House races:

• $8.4 million in the 4th District race between U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, and state Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo ($4.4 million for Huizenga, $4 million for McCann)
• $19 million in the 7th District race between U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, and Democrat Will Lawrence of Lansing ($12 million for Barrett to $7 million for Lawrence)
• $17.5 million in the 10th District race between Republican Michael Bouchard of Rochester Hills and Democrat Christina Hines of Warren ($9.8 million for Bouchard to $7.7 million for Hines).

Total spending across the final 10 days for the Michigan House is about even at $3.3 million for Republicans to $3.1 million for Democrats.

It’s more tilted in the Michigan Senate with $3 million in ads for Democrats to $1.3 million in ads for Republicans.

House Democrats and Republicans appear to have made their final decisions on how to prioritize resources in the final week of the campaign to decide who wins House control.

The biggest commitment in dollars, no surprise, is in the 44th House District contest between Rep. Steve Frisbie, R-Battle Creek, and former Rep. Jim Haadsma, D-Battle Creek. That’s been the most expensive race of the cycle.

There’s $763,000 in ads supporting Frisbie to $598,000 backing Haadsma from Sunday through Nov. 3, data from AdImpact shows.

In something of a surprise, the second biggest dollar total of the final week is in the 68th House District, where Democrats are hoping Matt Schlinker of Goodrich can upset Rep. David Martin, R-Davison. In that contest, there’s $632,000 in ads supporting Schlinker in the final 10 days to $549,000 backing Martin. The 68th has seen a surge of outside funds, from Michigan Citizens for Better Healthcare to back Schlinker and the Republican State Legislative Committee supporting Martin.

Coming in third for the homestretch is the 46th District contest between Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, and Democrat Jan Maino of East Jackson. In that race, there’s $353,000 in ads supporting Maino to $342,000 for Schmaltz.

Next up is the barnburner in the 86th District between Rep. Nancy DeBoer, R-Holland, and Democrat Joseph McClusky of Holland. Democrats are going big here in the final days, with $362,000 backing McClusky to $87,000 supporting DeBoer.

Technically fifth is the 42nd District race where House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, is up against Democrat Nick Rowe of Richland. Democrats initially reserved $760,000 in ads, but scaled it back to a little more than $200,000. Democrats have not technically canceled the reservation, but there’s also been no indication an ad has run. Still, there’s $125,000 in reservations for Hall this week, though AdImpact shows no actual ads for him either.

Next in dollars is the 109th District race between Rep. Karl Bohnak, R-Deerton, and Democrat Anna Aho Rink of Marquette where there’s $160,000 backing Bohnak and $149,000 for Rink. Television is much cheaper to buy in the Upper Peninsula.

Four seats in the Detroit media market rank lower because neither side has bought expensive broadcast ads – the 31st District (Republican Laura Perry of Dundee vs. Democrat Shannon Dare Wayne of Milan), 55th District (Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, vs. Democrat Alex Hawkins of Rochester Hills), the 27th District (Rep. Rylee Linting, R-Wyandotte, vs. former Rep. Jaime Churches, D-Wyandotte), and the 61st District (Republican Robert Wojtowicz vs. Rep. Denise Mentzer, D-Mount Clemens).

While improving resources available to men to boost their access to post-secondary education is one way to address the gender gap in education in the state, helping them succeed at a younger age will also help, a new report states.

A report released Wednesday through a collaboration between the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential and the American Institute for Boys and Men found gaps between men and women in higher education are due to multiple causes that begin at a younger age and often continue after college.

To address this gap, the Moving Michigan Males Forward report outlines areas to improve educational opportunities for males, including helping improve literacy rates, ensuring they have the resources to make plans for post-graduation, and expanded apprenticeship opportunities outside of the trades.

“Every Michigan resident deserves the opportunity to build a successful future, and we cannot afford to overlook the barriers that are keeping too many boys and men from pursuing education and training after high school,” MiLEAP Executive Director Beverly Walker-Griffea said in a statement. “When we help more men see a clear path from education to a meaningful career, we strengthen families, support employers, and build a more resilient Michigan economy. Understanding the challenges is the first step toward developing solutions that work.”

The report stems from an April 10, 2025, executive order issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to have MiLEAP and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity work to reach out to and inform more men of existing tuition-free options for post-secondary education.

Boys graduate high school at lower rates than girls generally, but the gender gap grows between high-income districts and lower-income districts.

In the highest-income quarter of districts in Michigan, 92% of girls graduate compared to 91% of boys. This gap grows in the lowest-income quarter of districts, with graduation rates of 83% for girls and 78% for boys.

About 55% of boys aged 3-5 are on track for kindergarten readiness whereas 73% of girls are. About half fourth-grade boys read at grade level based on National Assessment of Educational Progress basic standards, which is a drop of 10% since 2019.

The percentage of men enrolling in college within one year of high school graduation has fallen, from 65% in 2015 to 53% in 2024.

Those interviewed for the study listed several reasons for their lack of pursuit of higher education.

These included a lack of structured post-high school planning, attempting to take college courses but without support to keep them enrolled, their focus shifted to employment, logistical barriers, and connecting employment with education.

The report provides six recommendations.

First, there needs to be a focus on improving reading skills. The report points to the science of reading funding in the state budget as a place to begin ramping up efforts. By increasing engagement with boys as well as strategies for improving reading proficiency, progress can be made.

Educational planning tools that already exist should also be enhanced beyond current requirements to ensure adequate counselor resources are in place and that fewer students graduate without a plan.

Working to hire more men as teachers and strengthening the employment pipeline in the profession for men is also important, the study states.

It was noted that about 8,000 male teachers did not return to classrooms for the 2024-25 school year. Using registered apprenticeships and adding a recruitment priority to the Grow Your Own program can help reverse the decline.

Having a set person help coach someone through the re-enrollment process rather than simply providing outreach to get them started would also be helpful. Having reporting requirements on reengagement by gender can help find where men are falling away in their educational pursuits.

Expanding apprenticeship programs beyond the trades could also be highly beneficial, the report states.

Options to consider are pre-apprenticeship programs for healthcare, including beyond nursing, as well as considering Workforce Pell grant opportunities.

A final area touched on is reducing the rate of suicide among men in the state. Working to expand outreach to ensure men having mental health issues are aware of resources to get help could lower suicide rates.