For the last time ahead of a closely watched and historic race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers will face each other Wednesday night, Oct. 21, providing a rundown of the issues that motivate them, a summary of their answers to the challenges Michiganders face and, perhaps, a glimpse at the content of their characters.
Tonight's scheduled hour-long debate between El-Sayed, the Democratic former Wayne County and Detroit health director from Ann Arbor, and Rogers, the Republican former U.S. House member from White Lake, will be broadcast live and online from WXYZ-TV Detroit beginning at 7 p.m. And the Free Press, as always, will labor to bring it to you right here, livestreamed and with a running blog of significant
remarks, pointed exchanges and important context.
We'll begin our coverage at 4 p.m.
It is the second and final scheduled debate between the two, coming 13 days after the last one — a fractious, heated dogfight in Grand Rapids where the candidates bickered, talked over one another and lobbed personal invective at each other. This time, it will be up to WXYZ-TV editorial director Chuck Stokes, a veteran of Detroit TV, to keep the peace.
There is a great deal on the line: Democrats are vying to flip half a dozen Republican-held U.S. Senate seats as they look to regain the majority in the chamber. A win by the staunchly conservative, President Trump-endorsed Rogers of the seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan would make that a more unlikely proposition, so Republicans are throwing all they can at the race — some say unfairly — to defeat El-Sayed, a far-more progressive candidate than Michigan is used to in statewide elections.
Whoever wins the election Nov. 3 will make history: El-Sayed, the child of Egyptian immigrants and who was born and raised in Michigan, would become the first-ever Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate. A win by Rogers would mark the first time since 1994 a Republican had won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan. Polls and polling averages have it as a tight, 2-percentage-point race, and too close to call.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's second and final US Senate debate: Follow live here
