---
title: "Port Huron, Mich.: El-Sayed leans into midterms spotlight"
url: https://www.heredetroitmi.com/2026/10/12/el-sayed-midterms-main-character-port-huron/
date: 2026-10-12T07:17:16-04:00
modified: 2026-10-12T07:17:16-04:00
author: "Melody Magana"
categories: ["Politics"]
site: "HERE Detroit"
attribution: "HERE Detroit"
---

# Port Huron, Mich.: El-Sayed leans into midterms spotlight

> Port Huron, Mich. — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told reporters after a town hall here that if Republicans want to make him the main character of the midterms, he is not shying away from that fight. El-Sayed, holding a handheld mic in a signature V-neck black shirt, listened as a woman described burning

*Source: [HERE Detroit](https://www.heredetroitmi.com/2026/10/12/el-sayed-midterms-main-character-port-huron/) — October 12, 2026 by Melody Magana*

Port Huron, Mich. — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told reporters after a town hall here that if Republicans want to make him the main character of the midterms, he is not shying away from that fight.

El-Sayed, holding a handheld mic in a signature V-neck black shirt, listened as a woman described burning through savings after emergency brain surgery, then outlined proposals for guaranteed health care and paid leave.

Later downstairs, he called Republican opponent Mike Rogers a coward, said President Donald Trump was afraid to visit Michigan, and dismissed as dumb a question about whether Iran or Israel posed a greater threat to the United States.

El-Sayed would be the country first Muslim senator if elected, and he is crisscrossing Michigan to counter a Republican effort fueled by tens of millions of dollars that portrays him as a dangerous radical.

He has also embraced a confrontational style by mocking and taunting Trump and Rogers, a brash approach that rubbed some Democrats the wrong way during a divisive primary against Rep. Haley Stevens.

No Republican has won a Senate race in Michigan since 1994 even though the state backed Trump twice in three presidential campaigns, framing a consequential November contest.