Debate week in Michigan continues tomorrow night with El-Sayed and Rogers
The first debate between Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers will be this Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. The debate will air live on WOOD TV8, WOOD TV+, WOODTV.com, and their partner stations across the state.
Thursday’s debate is part of WOOD TV8’s “Debate Week in Michigan.” On Tuesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson and Republican candidate John James faced off in their first debate.
The first debate between Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers will be this Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. The debate will air live on WOOD TV8, WOOD TV+, WOODTV.com, and their partner stations across the state.
There will be a preshow beginning at 6:30 p.m. featuring recorded one-on-one interviews with the candidates and debate moderator Rick Albin. Following the debate, anchor Brian Sterling will speak with the candidates about how they believe they performed.
Thursday’s debate will be the first time El-Sayed and Rogers face each other onstage during the general election campaign. A previously scheduled debate on September 15 hosted by FOX 2 Detroit’s ‘The Pulse’ went forward without Rogers after he declined to participate. El-Sayed appeared alone and answered questions for an hour from moderator Roop Raj and metro Detroit residents.
In August, both candidates won their primaries. Rogers was unopposed in the Republican primary, while El-Sayed won a tightly contested race against Haley Stevens, who currently serves Michigan’s 11th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
El-Sayed and Rogers are running to succeed Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Peters, who announced last year that he would not seek reelection in 2026. Peters currently serves alongside Democratic U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin.
El-Sayed is a former Wayne County health director who previously ran for Michigan governor in 2018, while Rogers is a former U.S. representative who served Michigan in Congress from 2001 to 2015. Rogers was also the Republican nominee for Michigan’s other U.S. Senate seat in 2024, narrowly losing to Slotkin.
Thursday’s debate is part of WOOD TV8’s “Debate Week in Michigan.” On Tuesday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson and Republican candidate John James faced off in their first debate. The candidates discussed issues including data centers, gas prices, education, health care, and even set the record straight on attack ads the two have against each other.
The full gubernatorial debate can be viewed on WOOD TV8’s YouTube channel.
Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
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