Published September 30, 2026 at 7:23 PM EDT

Michigan’s Democratic and Republican candidates for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat are debating who would be better on crime. 

Wednesday, Republican Mike Rogers touted his experience as a former FBI special agent and referred to crime rates in Saginaw, where he was appearing.

“It’s going to be great finally I think to have a U.S. Senator who not only understands law enforcement, but who is willing to answer the phone and try to get the resources here to push back on what is a rising violent crime rate,” said Rogers.

Rogers called himself a “lawman” and referred to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El Sayed as a “conman.”

El Sayed’s campaign claims Rogers repeatedly voted against funding for community oriented policing programs when he served in Congress.  

“Mike Rogers can’t stop lying to distract from his record of voting against funding for law enforcement and making our communities less safe,” said campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak.

El Sayed's campaign also claims the Democratic candidate worked with Wayne County law enforcement to bring crime down when he was the county health director. 

A Pew Research Center poll found 43% of Americans surveyed give Republicans the edge on crime policy. Twenty-nine percent of those polled favored Democrats. Twenty-five percent favored neither party on crime policy.