Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan took the stage Tuesday for a FOX 2 debate after Republican rival Mike Rogers did not appear. Station staff kept an empty podium beside him in case Rogers arrived late. Coverage included a split-screen view that drew attention to the missing candidate.
El-Sayed contrasted Rogers’ recent travel with his absence in Detroit. He said Rogers had gone to Dallas the previous week for a convention held in the interest of Donald Trump yet would not devote an hour to the local debate.
“Last week, Mike Rogers took the time to go to Dallas, to give a speech at a convention held in the interest of Donald Trump, but he didn’t have the time to spend an hour with us here in Detroit,” El-Sayed said. “And it tells you everything about who he is and what his priorities are,” he added.
Campaign blamed earlier remarks by FOX 2 moderator Roop Raj
Speaking with reporters afterward, El-Sayed said Rogers had not shown voters enough respect to face hard questions in person. “I also think it’s important to realize that the individual who I’m running against did not have the respect to come here and to show you the respect enough of taking your hard questions,” he added. He later said, “It tells you who he is. He’s a coward.”
Rogers’ team released a statement Tuesday shortly before the event explaining why he stayed away. Communications director Alyssa Brouillet said the campaign objected to what it called media bias and pointed to past comments by moderator Roop Raj about El-Sayed. “Michiganders deserve to see their candidates engage in a healthy, fair debate – not one compromised by media bias,” Brouillet stated.
The release noted that Raj had called El-Sayed “brilliant,” that streamer Hasan Piker had referred to Raj as “my GOAT,” and that Raj had spoken about political stunts. Rogers has also faced questions about his campaign’s advertising decisions, such as when he reportedly asked AIPAC to stop running ads on his behalf, leading the group to cancel one against El-Sayed.
Brouillet said Rogers intended to present his case to working families and to press El-Sayed to “answer to voters for the conman he is.” She added that Rogers still planned to appear at two debates run by other news organizations.
Raj replied the same day on Good Day Detroit. “Nothing we do at this station is trying to take a side,” he said. He said the station puts tough questions to Republicans and Democrats alike on its political program, The Pulse. “But as you can imagine, the narrative is the narrative. And for whatever reason, the Rogers camp did not want to do a debate with FOX 2,” Raj said.
El-Sayed kept returning to the empty podium while answering policy questions. Asked about rules for data centers, he said, “I wish he was here to talk about it. I really wish he was.” When a question from an unnamed Libertarian Senate candidate was read, he observed that the Libertarian had taken part more than the Republican.
El-Sayed also laid out his positions on Medicare for all, his association with Hasan Piker, and U.S. military aid. He argued that people who use the phrase “America First” still back unconditional funding for other governments. “It’s not just Israel that I believe we should not be funding unconditionally. It’s Egypt, where my family immigrated from. It’s Pakistan. It’s Saudi Arabia. They should not be getting unconditional military aid,” he said.
Published: Sep 16, 2026 04:00 pm