DETROIT — Mike Rogers’ Senate campaign held a press conference Thursday in a most unlikely location: the front lawn of a home on Detroit’s west side.
Motor City is not known for a strong Republican base, but that was the gathering’s point: to show Mr. Rogers has crossover appeal and is a safe harbor for Democrats uncomfortable with his opponent, progressive Abdul El-Sayed.
Democratic state Representative Karen Whitsett said the press conference was held on her mother-in-law’s front lawn. The politician has mostly walked away from the Democrats in Lansing during this term. She took things a step further Thursday by backing Mr. Rogers.
Mrs. Whitsett said health insurance is her big issue in 2026, and Mr. El-Sayed’s preference for Medicare for All — a single-payer system in which the U.S. government is the payer — would leave her worse off.
“Now I’m not standing here as a state representative. I’m not standing here as a Democrat or a Republican because I’m neither. My bottom line is I want people to start to understand you need to pick your candidates by your issues,” she declared. “They have to line up, and I’m only going to talk about one issue that’s important to me, and that is health insurance.”
“I do not want to lose my Blue Cross Blue Shield. My husband is an operating engineer, and I want my health insurance,” she continued. “You will lose your health insurance if the other candidate gets elected. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That is what Medicare for all means.”
Rabbi Asher Lopatin is a lifelong Democrat from Huntington Woods, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m going to be voting for Mike Rogers,” he said. “Abdul El-Sayed has made one thing very clear: We cannot let him anywhere near the Senate.”
Mr. Lopatin noted the strong ties between Mr. El-Sayed and his top surrogate, online streamer Hasan Piker, who has said, “America deserved 9/11.”
“He’s never disavowed Hasan’s antisemitism. This man who’s called Orthodox Jews like me inbred. When Abdul El-Sayed was asked about the terrorist who attempted to blow up a synagogue right here in Michigan with hundreds of children,” he noted, “all he said is that hurt people hurt people.”
Mr. Lopatin said Mr. El-Sayed’s words and associations render him “unfit to lead.”
But he didn’t say he is leaving the Democratic Party. Mr. Rogers has made a point of not asking Democrats to do that — just to walk away from Mr. El-Sayed.
The Washington Star asked why Mr. Lopatin wouldn’t just leave the Democrat Party as a whole, given that it has never distanced itself from Mr. El-Sayed. If anything, the party has rallied around him, from Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson to the foes Mr. El-Sayed beat in the primary, Congresswoman Haley Stevens and state Senator Mallory McMorrow, to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said Thursday, “Dr. El-Sayed has brought in new energy and new talent into the Democratic Party.” (And the Michigan candidate promised to oppose Mr. Schumer’s leadership should he get into the body.)
“That insensitivity, the fact that they have not spoken out against that is very disappointing,” Mr. Lopatin said. “And that, yes, that does make me vote. In addition to the amazing qualities that Mike Rogers has, it makes me vote for Mike Rogers and turn everyone to that. Very disappointing of the Democratic Party.”
Mr. El-Sayed has had a tough few weeks since beating Ms. Stevens in the primary. First, the victory over the moderate was much tighter than the progressive and his team had crowed it would be. While supporters spoke of a 10-to-15-point triumph, he won by just 1 point and a margin of fewer than 15,000 votes.
Then Republicans immediately dropped the oppo on Mr. El-Sayed that Ms. Stevens either did not have or did not use. There were stories about his disdain for football, fireworks, and Mackinac Island.
“This election is about finding those things that we agree upon, not what we’re going to fight about,” said Kristi Rogers, Mike’s wife, to kick off the presser.
“You may be thinking, ‘Is this the time I set aside my party label? Is this the time that we have to actually look at what’s right for our family, what’s right for the state of Michigan?’” Mrs. Rogers said. “And I say to you: Yeah, it is.”
“Our door is open,” Mr. Rogers said. “I’m going to work to earn your trust, earn your support, to earn your vote. As a senator, I’ll fight for you if you’re a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, or none of the above. This is our home. We all have a stake in its future. And why we stood here together is we know we have a state to save. Michigan, let’s get to work.”
