El-Sayed on Rogers avoiding debate: ‘The elephant was not in the room’

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul-El Sayed (D) took a swipe at his opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), for not attending a debate Tuesday night.

“The elephant was not in the room. The elephant decided that they did not want to be in the room. The elephant cowarded out. Although, the elephants were all in the room in Dallas,” El-Sayed said following the debate on local outlet Fox 2, referencing a recent GOP midterm convention in Texas that Rogers spoke at.

“It’s wild to me that this guy is more interested in going to speak for what? Six minutes and 48 seconds in Dallas than he is to have 60 minutes with Michiganders here in Detroit,” El-Sayed said of his Republican opponent. “But it tells you who he is, he’s a coward.”

Rogers skipped Tuesday night’s debate with El-Sayed, pointing to the moderator’s alleged “favoritism” for his Democratic opponent.

In a statement, the Rogers campaign’s communications director, Alyssa Brouillet said that Michiganders “deserve to see their candidates engage in a healthy, fair debate — not one compromised by media bias.”

Brouillet zeroed in on moderator Roop Raj, who is a journalist with Fox 2. According to the Rogers campaign, Raj’s “bias and favoritism” resulted in the Republican skipping the debate.

“Roop Raj has made his position clear, from praising Abdul as ‘brilliant’ to being celebrated by Hasan Piker as ‘my GOAT [greatest of all time]’ and bragging about his political stunts,” Brouillet added.

During the debate, Raj pressed El-Sayed on moderate Democratic voters potentially supporting Rogers, to which he responded that he wanted “to speak more broadly about what this campaign is about.”

“Folks want to make this campaign about all different kinds of things that are a distraction. The question ultimately is: Can you afford your life? Can you afford the things you have to buy every week, every month, every year? And if not, ask yourself: why not?” he asked.

Late last month , Rogers officially launched the “Democrats for Mike Rogers” coalition. The Republican unveiled the coalition at an event with a handful of Democrats including Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett (D).