Republican Group Invests Another $4.7 Million in Michigan Senate Race as El-Sayed and Rogers Race Narrows

In a sign of optimism for GOP chances in Michigan next month, a Republican group is investing another $4.7 million in the Senate race for Mike Rogers, who is closing the gap in his race against the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed. President Trump plans to attend a get-out-the-vote rally on Sunday for the seat that would flip Republican if Mr. Rogers pulled out an upset victory.At the beginning of Mr. Trump’s second term, many believed that Republicans flipping Michigan would be a Herculean lift, with Senator Gary Peters, a moderate lawmaker who has won difficult races in the past, seen as a favorite to win a third term. When Mr. Peters announced his retirement at the age of 66, it set off what became a painfully divisive primary that pitted the party establishment against an insurgent progressive. Now, Dr. El-Sayed — after having faced nearly $60 million in negative ad spending during the primary from groups supporting his defeated opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens — is expected to run behind the top of the Democratic ticket. The nominee for governor, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, is winning her race by nearly 10 points, according to polls, while Dr. El-Sayed is leading Mr. Rogers by just two points, within the three-point margin of error, recent polling shows. On Sunday, a Super PAC called GLCF, Inc. placed a $4.7 million ad buy to run negative ads about Dr. El-Sayed, who has been barraged with questions about his family’s ties to the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood and his allegiance to the United States. According to the FEC, the GLFC political action committee has raised nearly $17 million since the beginning of last year. To date, it has spent nearly $12 million of that on behalf of Mr. Rogers. The Michigan race is already the most expensive in the state’s history, with nearly a quarter-billion dollars spent as of mid-October.The upside for Dr. El-Sayed is that his campaign is directly raising far more money than Mr. Rogers. According to FEC filings, Dr. El-Sayed has raised more than $30 million compared to Mr. Rogers who only raised $9.6 million. As a result, under federal campaign finance laws and regulations, Dr. El-Sayed gets more bang for his buck in advertising. Individual campaigns pay less for ad time than outside groups — like GLCF, Inc. — under FCC guidance. Democratic and Republican leadership groups have also been pouring money into the state, with the Senate Leadership Fund — the main Senate GOP super PAC — spending $51 million on Mr. Rogers’ behalf. The Democrats’ equivalent group, Senate Majority PAC, is spending $30 million for Dr. El-Sayed.According to polling aggregates, Dr. El-Sayed currently leads Mr. Rogers by about 2.9 points, far below other statewide Democratic candidates preparing for what could be a “blue wave” election year. Dr. El-Sayed previously told CNN that he expects to win his race by about seven points. On Sunday night, when asked again by CNN about that number, he replied, “Let’s see. I feel pretty good about it.”Borrowing a line from President Obama during his two successful presidential campaign runs, Dr. El-Sayed told a political rally earlier in the day that the reason “they keep saying my name,” and pointing to his Muslim faith is so “they can distract you from paying attention to the issues in your own life.”Mr. Rogers has been blasting out campaign ads accusing Dr. El-Sayed of caring more about Gaza than Michiganders, and he has been courting the Jewish and black vote, hoping that the demographic groups will question Dr. El-Sayed’s commitment to the needs of state residents. Polling suggests the strategy may be working. A poll out last week from the conservative outlet Insider Advantage gave Mr. Rogers a 19.7 percentage point share of the black vote in this year’s midterm compared to 12 percent in his failed 2024 bid against Elissa Slotkin. On Saturday, Mr. Rogers opened his first field office at Detroit aimed at reaching black voters in the city.Mr. Trump plans to swing through the state on Sunday in order to boost Mr. Rogers and the Republican candidate for governor, Congressman John James. The White House announced Sunday night that Mr. Trump will travel every day this coming week, with stops planned in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, and finally, Michigan. Mr. Trump carried all seven of those states in 2024. Mr. Trump’s rally will be held one day after President Obama holds an event with Dr. El-Sayed, Ms. Benson, and other Democratic candidates.

Republican Group Invests Another $4.7 Million in Michigan Senate Race as El-Sayed and Rogers Race Narrows

Republican Group Invests Another $4.7 Million in Michigan Senate Race as El-Sayed and Rogers Race Narrows

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