The Michigan senate race between Republican candidate Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has turned into the marquee matchup of the 2026 midterm, both as a test of the far left’s ability to compete in middle America and as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s leadership.So what will tip the balance?While many of the basic factors of this contest have already been built in, such as El-Sayed’s disdain for Israel, and Rogers, somewhat qualified, support for the president’s policies, there are a few points emerging that could prove decisive in the final two weeks.MORNING GLORY: THE POLLS GOT MICHIGAN BADLY WRONG.
NOW DEMOCRATS MAY FACE A BIGGER RECKONINGHere are five factors that still could sway who some late deciders vote for, or whether they turn out to vote at all.Policy differences aside, Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed are very different people with very different temperaments, and voters Fox News Digital spoke with in Michigan could see, in the same temperamental attributes, either a positive or negative light.For example, Leon in Detroit, a city employee in his 40s who supported El -Sayed’s opponent Haley Stevens in the primary, said of Abdul, "He just comes off arrogant, like he’s talking down to everybody," but young voters I spoke with in Grand Rapids called this attitude, "confidence," and "assertiveness."DAVID MARCUS: WHY ABDUL EL-SAYED’S ANTI-BILLIONAIRE SCREEDS MAY NOT PLAY IN GRAND RAPIDSOn the ground, one could almost describe the race as a Thanksgiving dinner in which Rogers is your calm, conservative, wealthy uncle and El-Sayed is the new college boyfriend who keeps talking about how terrible American capitalism is and why the football game on tv is toxic, Michigan voters must choose who they hope will be there next year..LEE CARTER: 2026 ELECTION COULD ALL COME DOWN TO JUST ONE TYPE OF VOTERBack in August, when El-Sayed won a one point victory over Stevens, despite polls showing him up by double digits, it was the aggressive fa...