President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday, following former President Barack Obama's campaign appearances for Democrats in the state a day earlier, highlighting the battleground's significance ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, according to The Straits Times.
The Michigan Senate contest between Republican former Representative Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed ranks among the nation's most competitive races and could determine chamber control. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority and a 218-214 advantage in the House.
Trump has repeatedly attacked El-Sayed from the White House and at campaign events nationwide, seeking to portray him as a Muslim extremist and mocking his middle name, Mohamed. A victory would make El-Sayed the first Muslim to win a US Senate seat. He has rejected the accusations and declared in a recent advertisement that "faith is a thing there's just too little of in Washington."
Rogers has claimed without evidence that El-Sayed maintains ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. "If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know: Are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?" Rogers said at a debate last week, The Straits Times reported.
At a Detroit rally on Saturday, Obama characterized the criticism of El-Sayed as an effort to make him appear "less patriotic and less American than they are," likening it to the false claims about his own birthplace. "We have seen this movie before. I starred in it. This stuff didn't work on me. Not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul," Obama said.
Trump's Port Huron event takes place in a region he carried with over 66% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election. The rally will also spotlight the US-Canada tariff dispute that has hit the Detroit-based auto industry, leading Rogers to distance himself from the president's trade stance.
Democrats require a net gain of four seats in both chambers to seize control. The Straits Times reported that national polling indicates Democrats could retake the House while the Senate remains a steeper climb.