El-Sayed, Rogers touch on Michigan jobs, auto industry and education in final Senate debate
In their final debate ahead of the midterm election, Michigan U.S. Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers discussed local topics that have become hot-button issues among voters in the state.
The candidates are in the final stretch of a contentious race that has drawn national attention, with El-Sayed fighting to maintain Democratic control in the state alongside Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Rogers, who was endorsed by President Trump, hoping to become the first Republican elected to a Michigan U.S. Senate seat in more than 30 years.
Aside from clashing over national topics like tariffs, the Iran war, artificial intelligence and Social Security, the candidates were asked about jobs in Michigan, the auto industry and education.
El-Sayed called for an end to stock buybacks and pointed to General Motors, which the Detroit Free Press reports is authorizing a $20 billion share repurchase program. He also pushed for Michigan to become the "world's leader in internal combustion engine research and manufacturing."
At the state level, Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the U.S. Senate race ahead of the August primary, introduced Senate Bill 783 in February 2026, which aims to amend the Michigan Strategic Fund Act and restrict stock buybacks.
El-Sayed mentioned electric vehicles, saying, "We also can't see the future of auto to China, so I think we need to say what would happen if we decided to throw the gauntlet down and build a 300-mile-range, $25,000 EV? We tariff around EVs, we invest in that and then we can continue to win both the future of internal combustion and EVs."
Rogers also brought up China, arguing that the first federal policy to implement is banning the country from building cars in the U.S.
In September, Zhao Chunlin, vice president of manufacturing at Chinese EV maker Zeekr, told CBS News that their vehicle would soon be sold in North America following a trade deal signed between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The U.S. government, on the other hand, has so far refused to allow Chinese vehicles into the market, for example, through prohibitive tariffs.
"That (Chinese vehicles built in the U.S.) is the single No. 1 existential threat to our automobile industry here. Remember, China doesn't come here to make profits; they come here to steal market share," Rogers said. "When they talk about showing up, or they build them in Canada and try to talk to them about coming across the bridge, we need to stop that at the border, and we need to make sure that it is very clear in the law that those Chinese cars can't be built right here in the United States."
On education, the moderators asked both candidates what they would do to help expand opportunities for students in Michigan, which is 44th in the nation in fourth-grade reading.
Rogers called that ranking "unacceptable" and proposed using Title I funds to support a "phonics-based" reading program between third and fourth grades and bringing skilled trades back into schools.
Meanwhile, El-Sayed pointed to a funding issue and pushed to fund the Department of Education, which is being dismantled following executive orders signed in 2025.
In a rebuttal, Rogers says El-Sayed uses "flowery language" and will find ways to blame Mr. Trump. El-Sayed responded, saying that he is going to blame the president because "this is Donald Trump's economy. We are living in it."
