Mike Rogers defends skipping Michigan Senate debate
The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Mike Rogers, is pushing back against reports that he declined an invitation to a Sept. 15 televised debate with his Democratic rival, Abdul El-Sayed. In a one-on-one interview with CBS News Detroit, Rogers insisted he never agreed to take part.
Rogers spoke to CBS News Detroit, hours after El-Sayed took part in Tuesday’s event on FOX 2 Detroit. The station said it invited both candidates on Aug. 5 and that El-Sayed accepted the next day. Rogers’ campaign says it never agreed to attend.
Rogers’ opening statement
“Well, first of all, it’s not a debate. It’s a town hall. We never agreed to it,” Rogers said in his interview.
He also denied that he had broken a commitment, saying “We never had it on our schedule,”.
When Rogers was told the station planned to keep a podium open for him, he pushed back against it, describing the arrangement as “highly unprofessional.”.
El-Sayed’s reaction
El-Sayed said Rogers was avoiding a confrontation over his record and his support for President Trump. “If I were him, I wouldn’t debate me either,” El-Sayed said after Tuesday’s event.
El-Sayed noted that Rogers declined to address questions regarding tariffs tied to Canada or the financial toll of war. The Michigan governor went on to take issue with Rogers making time to appear at a Republican convention in Dallas even as he skipped the Detroit event.
The scheduling dispute
The dispute concerns whether the Sept. 15 occasion ever amounted to a mutual agreement between both parties. The station’s campaign issued a statement alleging bias by the moderator and implying he had already chosen a side. Rogers repeated that same claim during his own interview.
He spoke those very words, saying “When you have someone who’s already picked their candidate, you can’t have a two-on-one event in a TV studio,”.
The Dallas convention
El-Sayed’s criticism of Rogers’ Dallas appearance was a recurring theme in his response.
Rogers’ closing pitch
CBS Detroit was told by Rogers that voters would get their chance to see the candidates side by side. “You’re gonna get two debates right here,” he said.
The two people running for office have said they will take part in face-to-face meetings on Oct. 8 and Oct. 21.
The five-debate challenge
On Aug. 5, the day CBS News projected that El-Sayed had won the Democratic primary, he challenged Rogers to five debates, according to CBS Detroit’s reporting at the time. He had pushed for more face time.
On Sunday, Rogers made his pitch to supporters in Detroit, while El-Sayed set out his priorities on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”.
The race and its stakes
The Senate seat is opening up because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and the UVA Center for Politics currently rates the race as a toss-up.
The seat is a must-win for control of the upper chamber.
Key questions
The key questions are:
- Did Rogers agree to the debate?
- Did the station pick El-Sayed ahead of time?
- Will the two debates in October actually happen?
Neither of the answers can be found in Tuesday’s event. Both candidates have committed to taking part in the remaining two debates, where the real answers will come.
The next two debates will determine how this contest plays out. Rogers has stated that the voters will get their chance to see the candidates side by side. El-Sayed has consented to take part in those two debates in October.
According to the UVA Center for Politics, the contest is still wide open.
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 15 debate | Sept. 15 | Rogers says he never agreed; El-Sayed participated |
| Oct. 8 debate | Oct. 8 | Both candidates committed |
| Oct. 21 debate | Oct. 21 | Both candidates committed |
The table shows the schedule for the three face-to-face meetings between Rogers and El-Sayed. Rogers and El-Sayed have each committed to taking part in the two debates in October, and Rogers says the voters will get their chance to see the candidates side by side then.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs no candidate on this question and is against treating politics as a horse race between two machines that both gather power. The dispute over the Sept. 15 event is a matter of conflicting claims about an agreement neither side admits to having made, and the paper does not take sides in that dispute. What matters is the commitment both candidates have now made to the two debates in October.
The scheduling dispute concerns whether Rogers ever agreed to a mutual event. Rogers denies agreeing, and the station says it invited both candidates on Aug. 5, with El-Sayed accepting the next day. Rogers’ campaign says it never agreed. That is a factual disagreement, not a political one, and the paper does not judge it.
What stands out is Rogers’ repeated claim that the moderator had already picked a side, which he raised again in his interview. That is a charge of bias, and it is one the paper takes seriously when it concerns the fairness of public forums.
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