JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Islamophobic attacks, Democrats still struggling to unify and a Republican candidate trying to carve out some last minute daylight with President Trump - that is the state of play in Michigan right now with four days to go in a Senate race that could determine control of the chamber. NPR congressional reporter Sam Gringlas has spent a whole lot of time in Michigan this year, and he joins us from outside Detroit. Hi there.
SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: So, Sam, I know that there is a lot of last minute drama in this race, but just start by reminding us, why are so many eyes focused on Michigan right now?
GRINGLAS: Well, Michigan is 1 of 2 Senate seats Democrats are defending in states Trump won in 2024. Now, it has been 30 years since Michigan last sent a Republican to the Senate, and Trump's approval rating is abysmal in Michigan now. And yet, polls suggests this race is a toss-up. Democrats are testing a nominee pretty far left on the spectrum, Abdul El-Sayed. He's an epidemiologist harnessing anger at the political establishment and betting he can beat Republican former congressman Mike Rogers by galvanizing young voters, disenfranchised voters, even former Trump voters.
SUMMERS: I mean, this has been a really tense race for months now, even going back to the primary, but things seem to have reached a new level in these closing days. Tell us more.
GRINGLAS: Yeah, a big part of the closing argument Republicans are making is that El-Sayed is dangerous. I went to a Rogers rally on a farm earlier this week, and inside this big barn, without offering evidence, he accused El-Sayed of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and taking support from terrorist groups.
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MIKE ROGERS: This guy - I can tell you this is as former FBI agent - could not get a security clearance. And by the way, my whole family wore the uniform of the United States of America, so we could pray any way that we wanted.
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ROGERS: It's not how he prays, it's how he thinks.
SUMMERS: Sam, those are some pretty striking comments. If he wins, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim American in the U.S. Senate. How has he responded?
GRINGLAS: Well, he's disputed all these claims and says Republicans are trying to distract voters from the high cost of living fueled by Trump's tariffs and the Iran war.
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ABDUL EL-SAYED: Me and my name and my faith are not the reason you can't see a doctor, not the reason you can't afford your gas, not the reason that you can't afford your groceries. It is their policies that are doing that.
GRINGLAS: Like a lot of Republicans, Rogers is in a tough spot. So lately he's been saying he'll support Trump when it's good for Michigan and break with him on stuff that's bad for the state, like tariffs on Canada. El-Sayed, though, says Rogers will be a rubber stamp on the president. And El-Sayed's campaign message has been pretty consistent, pushing Medicare for all and promising to curb special interest money in politics. During the primary, especially, a big focus of that was the pro Israel lobby AIPAC.
SUMMERS: Yeah, I know that Israel was an early flashpoint in this race, but does El-Sayed's difficulty uniting Democrats this late in the game go beyond that issue?
GRINGLAS: Yeah, there are Jewish Democrats who say some of El-Sayed's words have been really hurtful - including a March comment that El-Sayed has since apologized for - that some say seem to excuse a terrorist attack on a local synagogue preschool. There are also signs there might be some hesitancy as well among some Black voters. El-Sayed's former primary opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, said today she's going to appear with El-Sayed and Congressman Jim Clyburn at a Detroit Church. That's after saying El-Sayed had not done enough to reassure key parts of the Democratic coalition.
SUMMERS: Sam, I know you have been staying busy. It seems like you've been everywhere. I know you also dipped into Ohio, another key Senate race there. What can you tell us?
GRINGLAS: I swung around Lake Erie to Toledo last night for a Sherrod Brown rally. He's a former Democratic senator who lost in 2024 and is now attempting a comeback against first-term Republican incumbent Jon Husted. And like El-Sayed, Brown is also railing against corporate power and corruption. But Husted is trying to pierce Brown's antiestablishment cred, noting the former senator was in Congress for more than 30 years. Still, Democrats see an opening and have made the state a key part of their bid to try and retake the Senate.
SUMMERS: NPR's Sam Gringlas, reporting from Michigan and Ohio. Thanks so much.
GRINGLAS: No problem, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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