Mike Rogers defends skipping Michigan Senate event: “We never agreed to it”

Republican Mike Rogers is defending his decision not to attend a Sept. 15 televised event with Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, saying he never agreed to participate and accusing the moderator of favoritism.

“Well, first of all, it’s not a debate. It’s a town hall. We never agreed to it,” Rogers said in a one-on-one with CBS News Detroit.

El-Sayed took part in Tuesday’s event on FOX 2 Detroit. The station said it invited both candidates on Aug. 5 and that El-Sayed accepted the next day. Rogers’ campaign says it never agreed to attend.

The general election matchup between El-Sayed and Rogers is one of the most closely watched contests in the country. UVA Center for Politics rates the race as a toss-up. The Senate seat, being opened up by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, is a must-win for control of the upper chamber. 

Rogers’ campaign released a statement accusing the station of favoritism and suggesting the moderator had already taken sides. Rogers made the same argument in his interview.

“When you have someone who’s already picked their candidate, you can’t have a two-on-one event in a TV studio,” he said.

El-Sayed said Rogers was avoiding a confrontation over his record and his support for President Trump.

“If I were him, I wouldn’t debate me either,” El-Sayed said after Tuesday’s event.

He said Rogers did not want to answer questions about tariffs involving Canada or the cost of war, and he criticized Rogers for making time to speak at a Republican convention in Dallas while turning down the Detroit event.

Rogers rejected the suggestion that he had broken a commitment.

“We never had it on our schedule,” he said.

He also objected to the station’s plan to leave a podium open for him, calling that approach “highly unprofessional.”

Rogers said voters will get their chance to see the candidates side by side.

“You’re gonna get two debates right here in Michigan,” he told CBS Detroit. Both candidates have agreed to debates on Oct. 8 and Oct. 21.

El-Sayed had pressed for more. He challenged Rogers to five debates on Aug. 5, the day CBS News projected he had won the Democratic primary, CBS Detroit reported at the time. Most recently, Rogers made his case at a Detroit rally on Sunday while El-Sayed laid out his priorities on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

El-Sayed is meeting with Democratic senators at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.