{"id":942209,"date":"2026-10-22T15:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T15:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942209\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T15:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T15:28:09","slug":"michigan-senate-debate-key-takeaways-from-el-sayed-rogers-clash-us-midterm-elections-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942209\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Senate debate: Key takeaways from El-Sayed, Rogers clash | US Midterm Elections 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Candidates in two key United States Senate races have faced off in their final debates, less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed<\/a> and Republican Mike Rogers exchanged accusations on Wednesday regarding their political views and the US-Israel war on Iran.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

In Kansas, Republican Senator Roger Marshall and his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton, disagreed about the rising price of diesel and President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to import Russian fuel.<\/p>\n

The results of both elections will influence which party ends up in control of the Senate. The Republicans currently dominate Congress\u2019s upper chamber with 53 of its 100 seats. Democrats hold 45, and two senators are independents who caucus with the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the key takeaways from these debates:<\/p>\n

MichiganRogers distances himself from Trump on some topics<\/p>\n

Rogers questioned some of Trump\u2019s tariffs, describing them as a \u201cmixed bag\u201d. While he supported taking steps to bring automobile manufacturing back to Michigan from China and Mexico, he questioned the impact of tariffs on Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have stepped back and said maybe these Canadian tariffs were not well thought through,\u201d Rogers said, referring to the close ties between the automobile industries of the two countries.<\/p>\n

Michigan sits on the Canadian border and is the US state with the most car-manufacturing jobs.<\/p>\n

Rogers insisted he would put Michigan\u2019s interests first if elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s good for Michigan, I\u2019m going to be for it. If it\u2019s bad for Michigan, I\u2019m going to be against it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He pushed back against El-Sayed\u2019s repeated references to Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bingo game ought to be how many times can he put the word Trump in any answer that he has given in the last, whatever, 30 minutes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran takes centre stage<\/p>\n

El-Sayed accused Rogers of supporting the war on Iran, which he blamed for rising fuel and food prices in the US.<\/p>\n

He said he believed Iran had posed a threat to US national security but argued that the 2015 nuclear deal, negotiated under former President Barack Obama, had helped to contain it through diplomacy.<\/p>\n

The Joint Comprehensive Plan<\/a> of Action (JCPOA) was signed by Iran and several world powers, including the US. It placed restrictions on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, including strictly limiting uranium enrichment and compelling Iran to submit to international inspections, in exchange for sanctions relief.<\/p>\n

Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018, arguing that it failed to adequately address Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile programme and support for armed groups in the region.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed criticised Trump for abandoning the agreement during his first term and launching a war against Iran during his second.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed argued that Americans have been left paying the price.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe consequences of this war are that you are paying nearly $5 [per gallon, or 3.8 litres] in gas. You\u2019re paying more in groceries because of the price of diesel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), regular petrol<\/a> in Michigan averaged $4.44 per gallon on Wednesday, up from $2.92 a year earlier. Diesel prices rose from $3.62 to $6.41 per gallon over the same period.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed also sought to tie Rogers to Trump, who is expected to campaign in Michigan on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump is on the ballot through Mike Rogers. They are hip-to-hip on this war, and you are paying the cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike Rogers has been promoting this war since before he was in Congress. He\u2019s got a war for everything, and he won\u2019t back off the war now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rogers calls on Democrats<\/p>\n

Rogers appealed to Democrats who supported Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were a Haley Stevens voter and you came out of this and you said, \u2018Man, I just can\u2019t do it. He\u2019s too extreme,\u2019 well, guess what? You\u2019ll have a home with us,\u201d he said, and claimed that a growing number of Democrats are now backing his campaign.<\/p>\n

One of the more contentious moments of the debate came when Rogers suggested El-Sayed had the same supporters as groups like Hamas, allegations El-Sayed pushed back against.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can grin and you can smile and you can talk real pretty, but I\u2019m going to tell you what, that is a risk to our national security,\u201d Rogers said. He told reporters after the debate that he questions whether El-Sayed could get a security clearance for senators if he\u2019s elected.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed called the allegations \u201cshameful\u201d.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed and Rogers clash over immigration and ICE<\/p>\n

Immigration sparked another heated exchange.<\/p>\n

Rogers defended the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, arguing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations had helped reduce crime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should continue to do that. Find those folks who are committing crimes and get them the heck out of the country,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed criticised ICE\u2019s tactics, accusing Rogers of supporting raids<\/a> on schools, workplaces and places of worship.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe supports ICE running through your streets. They don\u2019t have to tell you who they are. They don\u2019t have to tell you why they\u2019re there,\u201d El-Sayed said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that we don\u2019t need ICE,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

KansasMarshall blames Ukraine war for high diesel prices<\/p>\n

Marshall said Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine rather than the Iran war was responsible for soaring diesel prices during his final debate with his Democratic challenger.<\/p>\n

The Republican\u2019s comments echoed Trump\u2019s recent criticism of Ukraine, including his claim that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have caused rising fuel costs.<\/p>\n

Trump has agreed a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release stocks of Russian diesel<\/a> to the US and global markets to ease prices, an idea Marshall greeted with some reservations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound like a great idea,\u201d Marshall said. But he added: \u201cIf this brings Russia to the bargaining table and it ends the war, then I am all for it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton responded angrily: \u201cWhat you said just now is you\u2019re going to sell out our friends in Ukraine. That\u2019s not OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diesel prices have become a key campaign issue in Kansas, where farmers depend heavily on the fuel. According to AAA, diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon this week in the state, compared with $3.62 a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Hamilton blamed the price rises on Trump\u2019s war on Iran and called for a temporary suspension of federal fuel taxes. Marshall has also said he wants the war to end soon but has not committed to trying to force Trump to end it.<\/p>\n

\"DemocratDemocratic senatorial candidate Adam Hamilton, left, and US Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican, face off in a debate at WDAF-TV studios in Kansas City, Missouri [AFP]ICE raids divide Kansas candidates<\/p>\n

Hamilton criticised recent ICE raids while Marshall defended Trump\u2019s border policies.<\/p>\n

Both candidates expressed cautious support for making E-Verify, a system that allows employers to check whether workers are legally authorised to work in the US, mandatory for businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a good idea. Of course, the devil\u2019s in the details,\u201d Marshall said, arguing that Republicans had secured the border and could now focus on fixing the immigration system.<\/p>\n

Hamilton challenged Marshall, who had mentioned delivering babies for undocumented parents during his medical career.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you also call ICE and ask them to be taken away? What did you do with these people?\u201d Hamilton asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had compassion for them in delivering these children, but then you support quotas. They\u2019re going to have people taken away. Hutchinson, Kansas, I was there. There was a preschool teacher arrested in front of her children,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Hamilton also criticised recent ICE raids in southwestern Kansas, warning that they were frightening workers and disrupting the agricultural industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are terrified when ICE shows up because they\u2019ve been militarised, politicised, and so people don\u2019t show up at work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want people terrified in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Selling weapons to Israel<\/p>\n

Hamilton criticised the use of US weapons in Gaza while Marshall defended Washington\u2019s alliance with Israel.<\/p>\n

Hamilton said he supported providing Israel with defensive weapons but opposed supplying bombs used in attacks on densely populated areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see entire cities flattened in Gaza, now we\u2019re not just talking about rooting out Hamas,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re using our aid to buy our weapons and then dropping them on innocent civilians. That\u2019s just not OK. It\u2019s not decent. It\u2019s not who we are as Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall defended Israel as one of Washington\u2019s closest allies and was asked whether there were circumstances in which he would block a weapons sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there is. I\u2019m not sure what it would be,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n

Marshall stressed the importance of strong military alliances but said Washington should prioritise domestic concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to make sure that our borders are secure. Let\u2019s take care of things at home first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Candidates in two key United States Senate races have faced off in their final debates, less than two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,1376,3411,7592,43,5897,44,41,39,42,40,772,272304],"class_list":["post-942209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-canada","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections","tag-explainer","tag-headlines","tag-iran","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-united-states","tag-us-midterm-elections-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}