Michigan Democrats split over Senate nominee as GOP courts Jewish voters
Republican Mike Rogers is courting Jewish Democrats in Michigan's tight Senate race, capitalizing on unease with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed's criticism of Israel and his association with streamer Hasan Piker.
Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is making a direct appeal to Jewish Democrats in Michigan, hoping to capitalize on divisions within the Democratic Party after a contentious primary that nominated Abdul El-Sayed. Rogers, a former congressman and FBI agent who narrowly lost the 2022 Senate race by about 20,000 votes, unveiled a «Democrats for Mike» coalition this week on Detroit's west side, urging lifelong Democrats to cross party lines in the November election.
The race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is one of roughly a dozen contests that will determine control of the Senate. Rogers is targeting Jewish voters who are uneasy with El-Sayed's vocal criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and his association with online streamer Hasan Piker, who has repeatedly made anti-Israel statements to his large audience. El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former Wayne County health director, would become the nation's first Muslim senator if elected.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin of suburban Detroit stood alongside Rogers at the campaign event and said he plans to vote for the Republican despite being a usual Democratic voter. «I usually vote Democrat, but I'm going to be voting for Mike Rogers,» Lopatin said. He argued that El-Sayed «has shown contempt for the Jewish community and, frankly, for American values by making Hasan Piker, a vicious antisemite and racist, his campaign surrogate.» Lopatin acknowledged disagreements with the Trump administration's policies but said «it's more important to make a statement that we cannot let someone like Abdul El-Sayed get into the Senate.»
El-Sayed has used the word «bloodthirsty» to describe Israel's military actions in Gaza and has accused Israeli leadership of genocide against Palestinians. He has argued against unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel and has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has the right to exist. At the same time, he has stated he stands «in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers» and condemns antisemitism. His campaign has also focused on Medicare-for-all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Stacy, a Jewish voter from suburban Detroit who backed El-Sayed's primary opponent Rep. Haley Stevens, said she is voting for Rogers. «The Democratic Party is going way too far to the left for us moderates,» she said, adding that El-Sayed «has been campaigning by putting a target on all Jews' backs.»
Some Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents to support Rogers. «This is sort of a do-or-die moment,» one person involved with the letter said. «There are many lifelong Democrats who are feeling homeless. It's not just a leftward drift but has turned into an anti-Jewish drift as well.»
The Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus is keeping its distance from the letter. Endorsement chair Joan Lowenstein said the group is part of the Michigan Democratic Party and will not advocate voting for a Republican. But she acknowledged the letter's signatories «are passionate about this and feel it's an existential issue.» Lowenstein described the Jewish community as split roughly in half, with some saying they could never vote for El-Sayed over his Israel comments and others saying a Democratic Senate is too important to abandon.
Rogers said he is not asking Democratic voters to become Republicans, emphasizing that his coalition is about a single election choice. The race is expected to be one of the closest in the country, with both parties treating Michigan as a must-win state in the battle for the Senate majority.
