Trump attacks El-Sayed before first Michigan Senate debate with Rogers

The debate was scheduled for Thursday evening in Grand Rapids, the Associated Press reported in a story carried by PBS News.

Rogers has called for an end to the Canada tariff fight

The ad was Rogers’ latest public break with Trump on the tariffs, following his September call for the Iran war to end, the Associated Press reported.

Rogers’ call to end the Canada tariff fight gives voters a clear statement of his position on the dispute. It is one strand of a campaign whose public exchanges also feature El-Sayed’s criticism of Rogers and Trump’s attack on the Democratic nominee.

El-Sayed has framed the contest as a contrast in the candidates’ approach to the race. In the PBS News story carrying the AP report, he said, “We are running to win the race. He's running not to lose the race.” That is El-Sayed’s characterization of Rogers, not a statement of Rogers’ own position.

The candidates enter the race from different primaries

Rogers, a former congressman, ran unopposed in the Republican primary on Aug. 4. El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination by less than 1 percentage point after primary debates with Rep. Haley Stevens, the Associated Press reported.

The campaigns are pursuing different groups of voters. The AP described El-Sayed as working to reunite Democrats divided during the primary while reaching independent voters and people who previously supported Trump. Rogers is seeking Republican turnout while also appealing to moderates.

The campaigns also have unequal advertising resources. El-Sayed trailed Rogers by nearly 2-to-1 in advertising spending, the AP reported, while outside groups spent heavily on ads. The spending comparison adds context to a race where candidates are trying to reach voters beyond their primary bases.

Michigan’s general election is Nov. 3. The open seat gives voters the choice of who will represent the state in the Senate, after a primary in which El-Sayed’s victory came by less than one percentage point.

Trump’s attack adds a separate dispute

In a late-Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump called El-Sayed “He is a RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer,” the AP reported. El-Sayed said Trump was using his name and faith to distract from the effects of the president’s policies.

El-Sayed wrote, “He's not just attacking me. He's attacking all of us,” in a response reported by PBS News in the AP story. His response focused on what he said Trump’s attack was meant to do; Rogers’ advertisement, by contrast, made a direct call about Canada tariffs.

Those are distinct messages for voters to assess: El-Sayed’s criticism of Trump’s conduct and Rogers’ stated position on the tariff fight. The first scheduled debate was set for Thursday evening, with the open Senate seat going before voters on Nov. 3.