Democrat Abdul El-Sayed leads Republican Mike Rogers by 46 percent to 44 percent in a new Rasmussen Reports poll of Michigan’s Senate race. The result places the Democrat narrowly ahead with less than three weeks remaining before the November 3 midterm election, despite an increasingly personal campaign against him, with President Donald Trump intensifying his attacks during the final stretch. At a Dalton, Georgia rally on Friday, Trump called El-Sayed “Muhammad,” mocked the candidate’s full name and asserted presidential license to address him however he wanted.
Journalist Mehdi Hasan condemned those comments as “naked racism and bigotry,” drawing attention to their potential effect on children with Muslim names. Newsweek emailed the White House for a response to Hasan's remarks on Saturday morning. Michigan voters will decide who succeeds retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters in a contest that could influence control of the Senate.
El-Sayed has framed the campaign around affordability and economic power, promising to “get money out of politics, put money in your pocket, and pass Medicare for All,” while also emphasizing housing costs and corporate influence. Rogers is campaigning on an “America and Michigan first” message centered on manufacturing, lower household and prescription-drug costs, and protecting Social Security and Medicare; more recently, he has called for an end to the U.S.-Canada tariff dispute and the war with Iran as economic pressures dominate the race. Newsweek contacted the El-Sayed and Rogers campaigns for comment on Saturday morning outside of regular working hours.
Rasmussen Reports published its Michigan survey on October 16 after interviewing 798 likely voters by telephone and online from October 12 to 14. El-Sayed registered 46 percent support against 44 percent for Rogers. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, and Pulse Opinion Research conducted the fieldwork.
That means the Democrat’s advantage cannot establish who is leading across the broader electorate. Still, the result is politically useful because Rasmussen is commonly included among Republican-aligned pollsters. The wider polling picture points in the same direction without showing a commanding Democratic position.
RealClearPolitics’ October 17 average put El-Sayed at 48.1 percent and Rogers at 45.5 percent. The latest numbers arrived alongside a more personal intervention by Trump. I can call you whatever the hell I want, Muhammad,” Trump said during a rally in Georgia before ridiculing the pronunciation of the candidate’s first name.
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