El-Sayed lead for Michigan Senate grows, helped by views of Trump

In Michigan's crucial Senate race, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is pulling ahead of Republican Mike Rogers in an election being driven by opposition to President Donald Trump, according to a Sept. 22 poll from Suffolk University.

Nearly half of the likely voters in Michigan surveyed said they were casting their ballot "to change the direction President Trump is leading the nation." That 48% dwarfed the 20% who want to support Trump and the 28% who said their vote didn't have much to do with him.

El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health official, now leads Rogers, a former congressman, 47%-40% in a race many Republicans have viewed as their best chance to pick up a Democratic-held seat. Trump carried Michigan in 2024, albeit narrowly, and El-Sayed is a progressive who has never held elective office.

Two polls released last week showed El-Sayed with a two or three-point edge over Rogers.

To gain a Senate majority in the midterms, Democrats need to hold all the seats they currently hold and flip four GOP seats. Earlier, that prospect had seemed improbable but independent analysts now put the odds around 50-50.

The poll of 500 likely general-election voters, taken by landline and cell phone…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/