Rogers and El-Sayed Clash Over Iran War and Tariffs in Michigan

The race to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate intensified Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, as Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed confronted each other over President Donald Trump, tariffs, the war in Iran and their personal records during their first general election debate in Grand Rapids. The hour-long WOOD-TV event highlighted major policy disagreements in a contest that could help determine control of the Senate.

Rick Albin of WOOD-TV moderated the debate, which grew heated enough that the candidates reportedly continued arguing during a commercial break. The two contenders are competing to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, with the race considered a toss-up ahead of the November election.

El-Sayed attacked Rogers over his alliance with Trump and changes in his positions on tariffs and the Iran war, describing his opponent as “cowardly” and “weak.” Rogers responded by calling El-Sayed a “glitchy AI chatbot” and a “lightweight,” challenging his policy positions, medical credentials and connections to the Middle East.

The candidates are scheduled to meet again for a second debate in Detroit on Oct. 21.

Tariff policy became a central point of contention as El-Sayed accused Rogers of changing his position on trade with Canada. El-Sayed criticized Rogers for appearing in recent campaign advertising with a more favorable message about Canada.

“drinking Labatts and talking about the Red Wings, pretending like he was not for this the entire time.” El-Sayed used that description to attack Rogers' recent campaign messaging on Canadian trade.

Rogers' advertising called for an end to the trade conflict, declaring that Canada “is not our enemy.” His position marked a shift from earlier statements defending Trump's tariff strategy, which had faced criticism from Michigan residents affected by higher prices on imported goods.

Rogers described Trump's approach as “masterful.”

As recently as August, Rogers defended tariffs as “necessary when countries cheat American workers,” and said Trump was “right to put America First.” Those comments contrasted with his more recent call for a negotiated resolution with Canada.

Trump told reporters earlier in the week that he did not interpret Rogers' comments as a departure from his own position.

“I viewed him as saying that he thinks Canada should make a deal.” Trump said.

During Thursday's debate, Rogers said he would “like to see the deal made” and had discussed possible solutions with the Trump administration. After the debate, he described his message to administration officials as “time to wrap this up.”

The candidates also disputed whether tariffs had helped Michigan's cherry industry, particularly growers in the Traverse City area. In early 2025, Michigan State University specialty-crop experts told MSU's Capital News Service that 10% tariffs on imports might offer a modest competitive advantage to domestic cherry producers.

However, the experts warned that tariffs could also increase the cost of pesticides, equipment and fertilizer. A Michigan tariff impact report prepared by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration showed fresh cherry exports had fallen 89% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2025, according to the source report.

Cherry prices rose in 2026 after several difficult years, but reporting attributed the improvement largely to favorable weather and other factors. The available evidence offered little direct support for the claim that tariffs had “saved” the industry.

Rogers repeatedly challenged El-Sayed's medical credentials, reviving a controversy from the Democratic primary. Rogers argued that El-Sayed's lack of a medical license meant he could not legally practice medicine in Michigan.

“If somebody came into his office and he tried to treat that patient, he’d go to jail,” Rogers said.

Rogers also insisted that El-Sayed was “not really a doctor.”

El-Sayed holds a medical degree from Columbia University but pursued public health rather than practicing medicine. Michigan's public health code defines a physician as an individual licensed or authorized under state law to practice medicine.

El-Sayed has faced criticism for describing himself as a “physician” despite not holding a license to practice medicine. He previously explained that his experience treating a patient during medical school led him to focus on broader public health problems rather than individual patient care.

During the debate, El-Sayed defended his academic qualifications and challenged Rogers to verify his degree directly with the university.

“take it up with them.” El-Sayed directed Rogers toward Columbia University in response to the criticism.

The Iran war provided another major source of disagreement. El-Sayed accused Rogers of changing his position after previously supporting the military campaign, which Trump has said was necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

On Feb. 28, the day the war began, Rogers wrote on X that “Iran is an imminent threat to our country—and must not have a nuclear weapon.”

On May 31, Rogers described the conflict as “win-win-win,” arguing that a peaceful Iran could reduce the need for U.S. military assistance to Israel. He also said, “I want it over,” acknowledging that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons had come with difficult consequences.

El-Sayed used Rogers' earlier description to question whether the conflict had delivered meaningful results.

“Are we winning? Is anyone actually winning?” El-Sayed asked during the debate.

Rogers defended his current call to end the war by arguing that the military campaign had significantly damaged Iran's nuclear capabilities.

“set back the nuclear program at least 20 years…this would be the time to wrap it up.” Rogers said, explaining why he believed the conflict should now end.

The candidates also attacked each other over personal wealth and property ownership. El-Sayed claimed Rogers had earned $14 million after leaving Congress in 2014 and owned a multimillion-dollar home in Florida.

Rogers countered that El-Sayed was “worth a million bucks” and alleged that his opponent owned homes in the United Arab Emirates “and Egypt, if I’m not mistaken.”

Personal financial disclosures and property records were cited in the source report as relevant evidence for evaluating the candidates' competing claims. The available article text states that Rogers and his wife had a combined net worth between $7 million and $14 million, up from a maximum of $1.7 million in an earlier disclosure period, but the source ends before providing the complete comparison.