Republican Mike Rogers is pushing back hard against criticism that he ducked a televised event with Democratic Senate rival Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
Rogers appeared on CBS News Detroit and flatly denied any prior commitment to the Fox 2 Detroit town hall event held on September 15.
“Well, first of all, it’s not a debate. It’s a town hall. We never agreed to it,” Rogers told CBS News Detroit during a one-on-one interview.
Rogers argued that participating would have put him at a structural disadvantage, pointing to what he described as the moderator’s clear sympathies toward his opponent.
“When you have someone who’s already picked their candidate, you can’t have a two-on-one event in a TV studio,” Rogers said.
The Rogers campaign’s communications director, Alyssa Brouillet, released a statement saying Michiganders deserve “a healthy, fair debate, not one compromised by media bias,” singling out Fox affiliate journalist Roop Raj as the problem.
Brouillet stated that Raj had praised El-Sayed as “brilliant” and had been celebrated by Hasan Piker as “my GOAT [greatest of all time]” while also “bragging about his political stunts.”
Raj pushed back on the characterization, explaining that his comment about El-Sayed being brilliant was made in the context of questioning whether El-Sayed was actually qualified, not as an endorsement of his politics.
“I essentially was saying, look, this is a guy who, by all accounts, is a smart guy. They’re both tremendous political athletes,” Raj said in his defense.
Fox 2 Detroit said it had invited both campaigns on August 5, with El-Sayed accepting the following day, while Rogers’ campaign did not respond until the morning of the event itself.
The station proceeded with the town hall anyway, leaving an empty podium where Rogers would have stood, a move Rogers later described as “highly unprofessional.”
El-Sayed used the moment to go on offense, arguing that Rogers was avoiding scrutiny of his record and his alignment with President Trump’s agenda, including on tariffs and foreign policy.
“If I were him, I wouldn’t debate me either,” El-Sayed said following the event, also criticizing Rogers for appearing at a Republican convention in Dallas instead.
“Although, the elephants were all in the room in Dallas,” El-Sayed added, referencing the GOP midterm gathering in Texas where Rogers made an appearance.
Rogers insisted he has not broken any commitment and told CBS Detroit that Michigan voters will still get ample opportunity to see both candidates face off directly.
“You’re gonna get two debates right here in Michigan,” Rogers said, pointing to agreed-upon events scheduled for October 8 on WOOD TV8 in Grand Rapids and October 21 on WXYZ-TV in Detroit.
The Michigan Senate race is considered one of the most consequential contests of the cycle, with UVA Center for Politics rating it a toss-up as both parties battle for control of the upper chamber.
The seat is being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, making it a critical pickup opportunity for Republicans hoping to flip the Senate majority.
