Candidates in two key United States Senate races have faced off in their final debates, less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers exchanged accusations on Wednesday regarding their political views and the US-Israel war on Iran.
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In Kansas, Republican Senator Roger Marshall and his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton, disagreed about the rising price of diesel and President Donald Trump’s plan to import Russian fuel.
The results of both elections will influence which party ends up in control of the Senate. The Republicans currently dominate Congress’s upper chamber with 53 of its 100 seats. Democrats hold 45, and two senators are independents who caucus with the Democratic Party.
Here are some of the key takeaways from these debates:
Michigan
Rogers distances himself from Trump on some topics
Rogers questioned some of Trump’s tariffs, describing them as a “mixed bag”. While he supported taking steps to bring automobile manufacturing back to Michigan from China and Mexico, he questioned the impact of tariffs on Canada.
“I have stepped back and said maybe these Canadian tariffs were not well thought through,” Rogers said, referring to the close ties between the automobile industries of the two countries.
Michigan sits on the Canadian border and is the US state with the most car-manufacturing jobs.
Rogers insisted he would put Michigan’s interests first if elected.
“If it’s good for Michigan, I’m going to be for it. If it’s bad for Michigan, I’m going to be against it,” he said.
He pushed back against El-Sayed’s repeated references to Trump.
“The bingo game ought to be how many times can he put the word Trump in any answer that he has given in the last, whatever, 30 minutes,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”
Iran takes centre stage
El-Sayed accused Rogers of supporting the war on Iran, which he blamed for rising fuel and food prices in the US.
He said he believed Iran had posed a threat to US national security but argued that the 2015 nuclear deal, negotiated under former President Barack Obama, had helped to contain it through diplomacy.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by Iran and several world powers, including the US. It placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme, including strictly limiting uranium enrichment and compelling Iran to submit to international inspections, in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018, arguing that it failed to adequately address Iran’s nuclear ambitions and ballistic missile programme and support for armed groups in the region.
El-Sayed criticised Trump for abandoning the agreement during his first term and launching a war against Iran during his second.
El-Sayed argued that Americans have been left paying the price.
“The consequences of this war are that you are paying nearly $5 [per gallon, or 3.8 litres] in gas. You’re paying more in groceries because of the price of diesel,” he said.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), regular petrol in Michigan averaged $4.44 per gallon on Wednesday, up from $2.92 a year earlier. Diesel prices rose from $3.62 to $6.41 per gallon over the same period.
El-Sayed also sought to tie Rogers to Trump, who is expected to campaign in Michigan on Sunday.
“Donald Trump is on the ballot through Mike Rogers. They are hip-to-hip on this war, and you are paying the cost,” he said.
“Mike Rogers has been promoting this war since before he was in Congress. He’s got a war for everything, and he won’t back off the war now.”
Rogers calls on Democrats
Rogers appealed to Democrats who supported Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the Democratic primary.
“If you were a Haley Stevens voter and you came out of this and you said, ‘Man, I just can’t do it. He’s too extreme,’ well, guess what? You’ll have a home with us,” he said, and claimed that a growing number of Democrats are now backing his campaign.
One of the more contentious moments of the debate came when Rogers suggested El-Sayed had the same supporters as groups like Hamas, allegations El-Sayed pushed back against.
“You can grin and you can smile and you can talk real pretty, but I’m going to tell you what, that is a risk to our national security,” Rogers said. He told reporters after the debate that he questions whether El-Sayed could get a security clearance for senators if he’s elected.
El-Sayed called the allegations “shameful”.
El-Sayed and Rogers clash over immigration and ICE
Immigration sparked another heated exchange.
Rogers defended the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, arguing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations had helped reduce crime.
“We should continue to do that. Find those folks who are committing crimes and get them the heck out of the country,” Rogers said.
El-Sayed criticised ICE’s tactics, accusing Rogers of supporting raids on schools, workplaces and places of worship.
“He supports ICE running through your streets. They don’t have to tell you who they are. They don’t have to tell you why they’re there,” El-Sayed said.
“I believe that we don’t need ICE,” he added.
Kansas
Marshall blames Ukraine war for high diesel prices
Marshall said Russia’s war on Ukraine rather than the Iran war was responsible for soaring diesel prices during his final debate with his Democratic challenger.
The Republican’s comments echoed Trump’s recent criticism of Ukraine, including his claim that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have caused rising fuel costs.
Trump has agreed a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release stocks of Russian diesel to the US and global markets to ease prices, an idea Marshall greeted with some reservations.
“It doesn’t sound like a great idea,” Marshall said. But he added: “If this brings Russia to the bargaining table and it ends the war, then I am all for it right now.”
Hamilton responded angrily: “What you said just now is you’re going to sell out our friends in Ukraine. That’s not OK.”
Diesel prices have become a key campaign issue in Kansas, where farmers depend heavily on the fuel. According to AAA, diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon this week in the state, compared with $3.62 a year earlier.
Hamilton blamed the price rises on Trump’s war on Iran and called for a temporary suspension of federal fuel taxes. Marshall has also said he wants the war to end soon but has not committed to trying to force Trump to end it.
ICE raids divide Kansas candidates
Hamilton criticised recent ICE raids while Marshall defended Trump’s border policies.
Both candidates expressed cautious support for making E-Verify, a system that allows employers to check whether workers are legally authorised to work in the US, mandatory for businesses.
“I think it’s a good idea. Of course, the devil’s in the details,” Marshall said, arguing that Republicans had secured the border and could now focus on fixing the immigration system.
Hamilton challenged Marshall, who had mentioned delivering babies for undocumented parents during his medical career.
“Did you also call ICE and ask them to be taken away? What did you do with these people?” Hamilton asked.
“You had compassion for them in delivering these children, but then you support quotas. They’re going to have people taken away. Hutchinson, Kansas, I was there. There was a preschool teacher arrested in front of her children,” he added.
Hamilton also criticised recent ICE raids in southwestern Kansas, warning that they were frightening workers and disrupting the agricultural industry.
“People are terrified when ICE shows up because they’ve been militarised, politicised, and so people don’t show up at work,” he said.
“We don’t want people terrified in our communities.”
Selling weapons to Israel
Hamilton criticised the use of US weapons in Gaza while Marshall defended Washington’s alliance with Israel.
Hamilton said he supported providing Israel with defensive weapons but opposed supplying bombs used in attacks on densely populated areas.
“When you see entire cities flattened in Gaza, now we’re not just talking about rooting out Hamas,” Hamilton said.
“They’re using our aid to buy our weapons and then dropping them on innocent civilians. That’s just not OK. It’s not decent. It’s not who we are as Americans.”
Marshall defended Israel as one of Washington’s closest allies and was asked whether there were circumstances in which he would block a weapons sale.
“I’m sure there is. I’m not sure what it would be,” Marshall said.
Marshall stressed the importance of strong military alliances but said Washington should prioritise domestic concerns.
“I want to make sure that our borders are secure. Let’s take care of things at home first,” he said.