By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2026-10-09 21:12:09 | Updated at 2026-10-10 23:56:53
1 day ago
Michigan is “ground zero” for politics in this cycle, but the Republican National Committee (RNC) is confident in Republican senate candidate Mike Rogers in his challenge to Democrat Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily.
Speaking to Breitbart News Daily after Thursday night’s debate between El-Sayed and Rogers, Gruters said that race, in particular, is discussed “on an hourly basis” in the RNC world.
“This is a race that we really have to win,” he said. “We’re putting a lot of energy and effort and resources into Rogers.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters speaks during the Republican National Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 9, 2026. (Blake Fagan / AFP via Getty Images)
Gruters said they thought the debate “went well,” adding, “Rogers is probably one of our best matchups in the country.”
“El Sayed is an absolute leftist and would be a disaster as a United States senator, and we’re just doing everything we can to make sure we win. So we’re providing the support. We have, you know, Michigan — if you look at it, almost like it’s ground zero for politics in the cycle,” Gruters said, adding, “The most important state, real super competitive Senate seat, couple of big congressional races.”
“So, we’re there in force, both on the ground and spending resources, but we’re very optimistic on Rogers right now,” he added.
LISTEN:
During Thursday night’s debate, El-Sayed notably failed to deny receiving money from leftist billionaire George Soros or terrorist groups, and he also accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of “terrorizing our streets.”
“You’ve made your position clear. You want to abolish ICE. Let me give you a scenario. If an undocumented immigrant in Michigan commits a violent crime, serves a sentence, and has a deportation order, under your system, would he be deported?” moderator Rick Albin asked the Democrat.
“Yes. But you don’t have to do that by violating the whole Constitution in the way that ICE has been enabled to do by this rogue administration. ICE right now is not about immigration enforcement,” El-Sayed claimed. “ICE is about terrorizing our streets.”
The current RealClearPolling average shows a tight race, with El-Sayed leading Rogers by an average of 3.2 percentage points.
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