Republican Mike Rogers has agreed to debate Democrat Abdul el Sayed in October as their Senate race in Michigan heats up.
Since winning his primary, el Sayed has repeatedly challenged his opponent to five fall debates. The two candidates have recently sparred over scheduling the debates.
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The Oct. 8 debate, to be hosted by WOOD TV8, is the first scheduled debate before the general election.
“The moment we’re in calls for a fighter, not a fraud,” Rogers said in a statement released by his campaign on Monday. “I look forward to taking the stage against conman Abdul El-Sayed to make him answer to the voters for his lies and extremism–and to make my case about the need for change after a quarter century of single-party rule that has ravaged our schools, decimated our manufacturing industry, and skyrocketed energy prices. See you there, Abdul!”
It’s unclear how many more debates there will be in the race before Nov. 3.
El Sayed slammed Rogers for not committing to additional debate invites from two television stations in Detroit and the nonpartisan Michigan Debate Commission, dubbing the Republican “Mike Dodgers.”
“Looks like Mike Dodgers is dodging the Fox 2 and WDIV debate invites? I guess it takes Mike a little bit more time to prepare,” el Sayed said in a statement. “Mike, I’m happy to wipe the floor with you on October 8th, but in case you think we forgot, I challenged you to five debates. I’ve accepted every single debate invite. On September 15th, I’m showing up to Fox 2’s debate and they’re prepared to run with an empty podium whether you have the courage to show up or not.”
Fox 2 news anchor Roop Raj confirmed Rogers has yet to join el Sayed in committing to the Sept. 15 debate.
ROGERS AND EL SAYED FEUD OVER SCHEDULING DEBATE: ‘MIKE DODGERS’
Recent polling shows the Democratic nominee outpacing his Republican counterpart by 7 points, with el Sayed at 46% and Rogers at 39%. Nine percent of voters who answered the Susquehanna Polling and Research survey earlier this month said they are undecided, and 4% said they prefer another candidate.
Both candidates are running to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who has held the seat for two six-year terms.
