(FOX 2) - With the Democratic primary in the rear-view mirror, Michigan's U.S. Senate candidates are wasting no time pivoting toward the general election.
Abdul El-Sayed will take on Mike Rogers in November in what will be one of the most-watched elections of the 2026 Midterms. With an open seat on the line in the U.S. Senate, the national spotlight will be on Michigan until ballots are counted.
El-Sayed called out Rogers during his victory speech on Wednesday, calling him a bootlicker for President Donald Trump and "the worst of all versions of the Republican Party."
In Rogers' first statement about the primary, he called El-Sayed an extremist who "believes America deserved 9/11" — a reference to Hasan Piker's comment about the terrorist attack and his support of El-Sayed.
Mike Rogers goes on offense
What they're saying:
"The choice this November is simple: common sense or complete insanity."
That's how Rogers' statement began in response to the Michigan Senate Primary's result after the Democratic race was called Wednesday morning. He attacked the Democratic control of Michigan's two U.S. Senate seats as they have "run our state into the ground."
"And now the same failed politicians are asking us to send Abdul El-Sayed to Washington. Abdul isn't just another liberal. He's an extremist.
"He wants to empty prisons and put murderers and sex offenders back on our streets. He pledged his support to the Muslim Brotherhood and campaigns with people who refuse to condemn terrorism. And, he advocated for the largest tax hike in American history — costing families already struggling to make ends meet over $3000 more per year."
Abdul El-Sayed defeats Haley Stevens in Democratic Senate primary race
The race is finally decided in one of the most heavily watched Democratic Senate match-ups in the country.
The other side:
El-Sayed challenged Rogers to five debates even though "I know you're gonna say no because you're a coward."
"Mike's the guy who spent 14 years in Congress with one goal to figure out how to cash out the day he left. And guess what he did as soon as he left Congress after having taken corporate check, after corporate check, after corporate check to empower the corporations to pick your pockets. He went and he cashed out."
2026 General Election
Zoom out:
El-Sayed's victory was among the biggest scored by far-left candidates this midterm. His slim victory over Haley Stevens was a rebuke of the Democratic Party establishment's preferred candidate who had a massive spending advantage, major endorsements from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other major election officials, and bigger name recognition.
Whether that success translates to the general election will be the talk of Michigan and national politics up until Nov. 3.
The president's weighing in on the result the morning after the race is as good an indication as any of that spotlight:
The Source: Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers' campaign, and a post from President Donald Trump were cited for this story.