Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed visits “The Story With Martha MacCallum” at Fox News Channel Studios on Oct. 5, 2026, in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images)
By Samuel Short October 9, 2026 at 7:28am
Thursday saw Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed take to the debate stage against his Republican opponent Mike Rogers.
The two are less than a month away from Michiganders deciding who will represent them in the upper chamber of Congress.
Predictably, the stage from Grand Rapids produced some noteworthy moments as the two verbally sparred. Rogers laid into El-Sayed, rapid firing on several of his previous positions, only for the Democrat to step in with a “gotcha” that did not land.
“He can’t condemn Hamas, he can’t condemn the Muslim Brotherhood, he says his home is Egypt,” Rogers said.
El-Sayed jumped in. “His home is in Florida; my home is in Michigan,” he retorted.
Just as the moderator tried shifting the topic, El-Sayed went further.
“He does have a home in Florida. He took it off the market. I don’t know why.”
Rogers shot back as the moderator tried to move on.
“He has a home in the United Arab Emirates. At least Florida is in the United States.”
Abdul owns homes in Dubai and Pakistan, Mike owns homes in America.
“At least Florida is in the USA” 🇺🇸 https://t.co/V7cuCuVxcM
— Great Lakes HQ (@GreatLakes_HQ) October 8, 2026
This doesn’t play well for El-Sayed.
To corroborate Rogers’ first claim, in an October 2025 podcast appearance, RedState reported that El-Sayed did refer to Egypt as “back home.”
Moreover, Rogers’ second claim is also true.
The Washington Free Beacon reported in July that El-Sayed does own a rental property in the United Arab Emirates.
What about El-Sayed’s claim about Rodger’s home in Florida? American Vanguard confirms a property owned by Rogers in Cape Coral, Florida, which he and his wife bought in 2022.
In other words, both make claims about the other that are true.
Yet, when examining the logic at play, Rogers makes a better point. El-Sayed should have kept his mouth shut.
Who do you think performed better in the debate?
As Rogers said, Florida is in the United States. Egypt — El-Sayed’s “home” — and the UAE are in the Middle East.
American Vanguard notes that Rogers, through a Michigan residence, does meet the requirements for holding office.
With El-Sayed bringing up his opponent’s second home, the Democrat only opened himself up to further scrutiny with his Middle Eastern property.
After Thursday, it will be interesting to see if polling shifts in Rogers’ favor.
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Sam Short is an Assistant Professor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
