While Rogers Makes a Smart Move in Michigan Senate Race, El-Sayed Just Made a Blunder

Abdul El-Sayed is now the Democrats' nominee for the Senate in Michigan, and they may be finding out what a bad idea that was.

While he beat Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), he now has to go up against former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.

As we reported, El-Sayed has some big issues. He has not been doing well with the working-class vote, or with Democrats who thought he was too extreme. Indeed, in the primary, even though he squeaked by with the win, more Democrats voted for someone other than him than voted for him. Additionally, one of his main surrogates, Hasan Piker, cursed out Michigan Democrats who said that El-Sayed had some "work to do" to help bring people to support him, calling them "Islamophobic pieces of sh**," and other insults. Not exactly smart, at least not if El-Sayed wants their vote.

Meanwhile, Rogers has been reaching out to Democrats who feel they can't vote for El-Sayed. "You have a home with us," he said in a great ad we reported on earlier.

My message to Democratic voters in Michigan: pic.twitter.com/Jluml1RepW
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) August 7, 2026

He's also been reaching out on social media to let people know.

Alex — the voters that you encountered have a home with us.

The vast majority of Michiganders think Abdul El-Sayed is too extreme, and know that we have a state to save. https://t.co/pvexamTZXn
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) August 7, 2026

Smart, good move.

'Meeting the Moment': Mike Rogers Makes His Play As Michigan Democrats Face a Growing Revolt

But while Rogers was doing that, El-Sayed made a blunder. He responded to a post about a documentary in which he appears to say he "hates" Mackinac Island, a beautiful, important tourist haven in Michigan. By responding to the video and not disputing that, he put more attention on his statement.

Not sure about “End Wokeness,” but I don’t think the most “American place in MI” can be a place that…bans cars. https://t.co/PGPQklztVO
— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 7, 2026

El-Sayed ran for governor in 2018 and lost. Reportedly, this clip is from the run in 2018, included in a 2020 documentary. The governor's summer residence is on Mackinac, which is why he says that if he won, he would have to live there. "Every time I've ever come here, I've hated it. Why am I here?" he says.

Now, El-Sayed has to deal with why he was saying that when he wants to represent the state.

Some of his supporters have argued he was talking about the Mackinac Policy Conference. Fox reached out to his team to get a response.

Plus, people took his response about the island not having cars, which is the tradition on the island, negatively. It was not going over well.

Doubling down on hating Mackinac Island is a choice… https://t.co/fhVsbCAtXg
— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) August 7, 2026

I think maybe the reports of his political genius were premature. https://t.co/J7oBLaIKid
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) August 7, 2026

Mike Rogers got it right.

There's no place like Mackinac ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ALT1tILcUu
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) August 7, 2026

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

Help RedState continue to report on the Democrats’ radicalism and inform voters as our nation faces a crossroads. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.