Photo: U.S. Congress (archive, c. 2005)
Michigan voters weighing Republican Mike Rogers against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed described choices that crossed party lines in interviews conducted Monday in Rochester, as the Senate contest headed into Tuesday’s election.
A former Democrat said she had voted for Rogers, a lifelong Republican said he had chosen El-Sayed despite major policy disagreements, and a third voter planned to back Rogers while supporting a Democrat for governor, according to a Fox News report published November 3.
The three conversations offer a snapshot of individual decisions, not a representative survey or an election result. They show how views of President Donald Trump, the candidates and particular issues can pull voters away from their usual party.
A former Democrat chooses Rogers
Marjorie Mehney told Fox News she had cast her ballot for Rogers and had been a Democrat years earlier. She said she would be embarrassed to identify with the party today, pointing to El-Sayed as one reason.
At the same time, Mehney described visible enthusiasm for El-Sayed in her hometown of Petoskey, where she said she had noticed unusually strong support on yard signs. “We’ve never seen anything like the support that’s going on with signs in front yards,” she told the outlet.
Mehney said that support surprised and concerned her. Her observations about signs and her expectations for the outcome were personal impressions, not a measured estimate of how the state would vote.
A Republican chooses El-Sayed despite reservations
Tom Wright, who described himself as a lifelong Republican, told Fox News he had voted for El-Sayed even though he disagreed with what he estimated were 60% to 70% of the Democrat’s policy positions.
For Wright, opposition to Trump’s influence on the Republican Party outweighed those disagreements. He argued that Rogers would not do enough to move the party away from the president.
“The litmus test is, are people willing to hold their nose and vote for Abdul because they are so appalled by Trump?” Wright said. He said his decision did not mean he had become a progressive or agreed broadly with El-Sayed.
Wright also expressed reservations about El-Sayed’s positions on Israel and Palestinians and about some of his associations. Those were Wright’s criticisms of the candidate, not findings established by the interviews.
Rogers served in the House from 2001 to 2015, leaving before Trump’s first presidential campaign, Fox News noted. The outlet reported that Rogers initially supported the Iran war and broad presidential tariff authority but later called for a quick end to the war and an end to the tariff dispute with Canada. Wright said those shifts had not changed his choice.
One voter’s split ticket
A third voter, identified by Fox News only as Gerald, said he planned to vote for Rogers for Senate and Democrat Jocelyn Benson for governor. He expressed discomfort with El-Sayed, illustrating a choice between candidates rather than a straight party-line ballot.
The interviews were conducted the afternoon before Election Day. None establishes who is winning the Senate contest, how widespread cross-party voting will be, or which concerns will ultimately decide the race. Those questions depend on the votes cast and counted, not three voters’ expectations.
JBizNews Desk | Michigan
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