The second Michigan Senate debate on Wednesday featured several heated clashes between Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and former Republican Rep.Mike Rogers, though it was far more tame than an explosive first meeting earlier this month.The debate, which took place in Detroit, came less than two weeks before Election Day in the bitterly contested battle for an open Senate seat.
Polls show a neck and neck contest to replace retiring Sen.Gary Peters, a Democrat.El-Sayed sought to tie Rogers to President Donald Trump at every turn while also painting his opponent as a corporate sellout.
During a question about addressing cost-of-living concerns, El-Sayed said rising gas and grocery prices are all products of the war with Iran“We need a War Powers resolution rather than a senator who is going to stand hip to hip with Donald Trump on this war that made no sense when it started and certainly makes no sense now,” El-Sayed said.“I’m looking forward to standing with my colleagues in the United States Senate to hold Donald Trump accountable for this war.
The other thing that we’re going to need to do is take on the corporations who bought and sold politicians for a very long time.”Rogers has sought to create space between himself and Trump on the war in recent weeks.The Republican cut an ad calling for the war to wind down, though he has also said there was good reason for Trump to go to war initially to target Iran’s nuclear program.
In an interview with NBC News last week, Rogers said “I don’t think so,” when asked if Trump made a mistake launching the war.Separately, Rogers aimed to tie El-Sayed to Islamic fundamentalist groups overseas while questioning his resume and trustworthiness.“Everything that he said is not accurate, not correct,” Rogers said in response to criticisms from El-Sayed, adding that the Democrat had misled voters about his connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and his own medical background.“This is a pattern that we ne...