The Michigan Republican Party held a nominating convention on August 22 to elevate candidates for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. During the convention, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers also spoke and delivered a direct message about his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed: he's a con man, and Michigan voters should not fall for the scam.
Michigan Republican Party nominating convention for LG, SOS, AG https://t.co/vMPzekGijb
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) August 22, 2026
"We do have a state to save," Rogers said. "The contrast between the choices for United States Senator could not be more clear. I'm a former FBI agent, I busted crooks and the mob and drug dealers, murderers, human traffickers, terrorists, swindlers. And I tell you one thing: I know a con man when I see one."
🚨Mike Rogers, a former FBI agent, CALLS OUT con man Abdul El-Sayed in his Senate race.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"The contrast between the choices for the United States Senator could not be more clear."
Mike Rogers then lays out his credentials:
"I'm a former FBI agent. I busted crooks and the mob and… pic.twitter.com/VohPDhEtyR
Rogers then laid out exactly how El-Sayed is a con man.
"And con man Abdul El-Sayed wants to abolish ICE, he wants to abolish Voter ID, abolish gas-powered cars. He wants to abolish your private health insurance. He wants to abolish police funding. He wants to abolish prisons. I still can't figure that one out," he continued. "He wants to abolish the Second Amendment. With your help, come November, he's going to wish that they abolished election day."
"Con man Abdul El-Sayed is as corrupt as they come. He's never been able to hold a real job. His whole life he's been leeching off the Michigan taxpayers, George Soros, and his wealthy father-in-law. He said he served Detroit as a public health official, but the truth is he only served himself," Rogers said, adding, "Think of this. He orchestrated a scheme so that the Detroit Health Department taxpayers would keep paying his salary while he was running for the United States Senate."
"Does that smell a little bit like corruption to you?"
🚨Abdul El-Sayed CLAIMS to hate money in politics, then POCKETS donor cash through his own super PAC SCAM
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"Con Man Abdul says he wants to keep money out of politics. Well, that's just as long as he's for it, as long as it goes right in his pocket."
Mike Rogers EXPOSES the… pic.twitter.com/84Iz9kV1LR
"Con man Abdul says he wants to keep money out of politics. Well, that's just as long as it goes straight into his pocket. After he lost to Gretchen Whitmer in 2018, he and his buddies set up a super PAC. Remember that thing he says he really hates? He set one up for himself. They've ripped off hardworking Americans, selling them socialist snake oil and saying that their money would go toward fighting far-left causes. The problem? Only 13 percent of those funds raised ever made it to help those candidates and causes. I'm kind of glad he's really bad at that. But the rest of the money lined his own pocket," Rogers said. "He made money and his friends made money. You know, the same ones running his Senate campaign."
Rogers continued, "And then there's the con man's claims about Chuck Schumer and corporations. Con man Abdul, he will look you in the eyes and tell you that Chuck Schumer and corporations have no place in politics. This is, of course, unless they benefit Abdul. Millions and millions of dollars are flooding the airwaves right now and they're trying to con Michiganders into voting for Abdul El-Sayed. And who's spending on his behalf? The very people Abdul says he'll stand up to: Schumer, and leftist corporations."
"A typical con man: you just can't believe what they say. If Abdul had any principles or morals at all, he would put his money where his mouth is, he'd tell Chuck Schumer to get out of Michigan," Rogers noted. "Instead, he just put that money in his pocket."
Then Rogers pivoted to talking about Abdul El-Sayed's violent rhetoric, including his relationship with Hasan Piker, the Twitch streamer and influencer who said America deserved 9/11, called for "punishment" for Democrats who don't support El-Sayed, and dismissed Hamas atrocities on October 7, 2023.
🚨Mike Rogers EXPOSES Abdul's violent rhetoric TERRORIZING Jewish students at the University of Michigan
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"Just like a typical con man, Abdul uses threats of violence to intimidate the people he's conning. This is serious; words matter."
Rogers then describes the devastating… pic.twitter.com/yamz9DymVo
"Just like a typical con man, Abdul uses threats of violence to intimidate the people he's conning," Rogers said. "This is serious. Words matter. And while Abdul and his running mate Hasan Piker continue to make public calls for violence against those who disagree with them, Michiganders are being caught in the crossfire. Abdul and Hasan's violent rhetoric has real implications. Like the young Jewish girl, who attends the University of Michigan, that I spoke to. She told me now because of the rise of antisemitism and that rhetoric, she's afraid to walk from her dorm room to her class. She has to hide her Star of David in her shirt. Her friends, her male friends, won't wear the yarmulke, they'll wear a baseball cap instead."
"With tears in her eyes, she said she just can't believe we allow this to happen in America in 2026. Abdul and Hasan's rhetoric is the kind of thing that leads to a terrorist filling his car with explosives and driving into a synagogue right here in Michigan, hoping to kill hundreds of our children? And what was Abdul's response? 'Hurt people hurt people,'" Rogers continued. "Abdul is extreme, he's angry, and his calls for violence certainly do not represent our Michigan values."
"And when we beat him in November with your help, we will send that message: we will not tolerate hate in our Michigan politics," he continued. "Not only does he promote violence, but he wants more of it in our streets, apparently. The con man wants to dismantle prison, a get-out-of-jail-free card for rapists and murderers and putting them back in our neighborhoods, our streets. With our kids. I spent my career putting bad guys away. I'm not interested in a social experiment that puts them back on our streets."
Next, Rogers slammed El-Sayed's "rules for thee, but not for me" behavior, calling out his hypocrisy on things like Medicare for All and capitalism.
"Just like a typical con man, Abdul says one thing, but lives another. He says he wants Medicare for All, but his healthcare policies are just so extreme his wife won't even accept them. She has a mental health practice that doesn't accept ... any form of insurance at all. But that's okay because it just means con man Abdul gets more money in his pocket," Rogers said.
🚨 Medicare for All would QUADRUPLE your taxes, cover illegal immigrants, and force you to PAY for children's gender transition surgeries
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"Abdul El-Sayed pushes for Medicare for All and he would see your taxes raise quadruple. Quadruple."
Mike Rogers notes the admission came… pic.twitter.com/hTq6DibE9q
"He pushes for Medicare for All and he would see your taxes raised quadruple. Quadruple. He's finally admitted it on a TV show not that long ago. And how would that money be spent? He says his Medicare for All scheme would include illegal immigrants and force you to pay for gender transition surgeries for children," he added. "Abdul wants the same people who run the DMV and the IRS to run your healthcare. It will take away your doctor. It will take away your health insurance and permanently close rural hospitals. And weeks and weeks of waiting time. There was a Canadian man who fractured his leg in Windsor. Because he had a job in America, he fractured his leg, and instead of going to the emergency room, he drove across the bridge to come to an American hospital to get treatment. If Medicare for All would be, my God, where would the Canadians go to get healthcare?"
"Medicare for All really means healthcare for no one, and we shouldn't forget it," Rogers said. He then pointed out El-Sayed's hypocrisy on capitalism and corporate money.
"Abdul rails against capitalism while enjoying wealth himself, including a luxury home in Dubai. He summers, by the way, in Egypt," Rogers went on. "He takes money from every left-wing interest he claims to oppose: billionaire foundations, millionaire endowments, media corporations. Even corporations he created for himself. One set of rules for you, another set for Abdul. The only job Abdul ever really created was paying the people to delete his tweets and podcasts. Apparently, that's a full-time job that probably pays pretty darn well."
"The bottom line: Abdul wants money from George Soros, more money for the government and hospital waiting lines for all. The truth is Abdul's bid for the Senate is more of a long con," he said. "Abdul talks about the following model; he wants to duplicate the Obama model. He wants to build a national movement and he's already planning on running for President in 2028. He can worry about building a movement across America. I'm worried about whether young couples here in Michigan can afford a home, whether parents can afford their electric bill, whether Michigan graduates have the skills to earn a good living."
🚨Mike Rogers EXPOSES Abdul El-Sayed for wanting to represent PALESTINE instead of MICHIGAN
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"El-Sayed wants to represent Palestine. I want to represent Michigan."
Mike Rogers then DRAWS THE LINE on the fundamental divide between the two candidates.
"Abdul believes the… pic.twitter.com/cdAw6E28MW
"El-Sayed wants to represent Palestine; I want to represent Michigan," Rogers added. "Abdul believes the government is the answer. I believe Michiganders are the answer. The government's job is not to guarantee success; it's to create an opportunity for us to be successful in our own way."
Rogers then laid out his vision for that success, including returning shop classes to high schools. "My dad was a shop teacher, and I know what those classes mean," he said. "Not every student needs a four-year degree or a mountain of debt. We need builders and welders and electricians and pipefitters and mechanics and tool-and-die workers. These aren't fallback careers, these are great careers. They're jobs China can't steal and AI can't replace."
🚨 Mike Rogers SOUNDS THE ALARM on America's education CRISIS: two-thirds of fourth graders CAN'T READ at grade level
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"We have to stop outsourcing our kids' education to big tech. Kids need to read and write and do math."
Rogers then lays out the ALARMING numbers.
"Right now,… pic.twitter.com/OLMB8SHqHs
"We have to stop outsourcing our kids' education to big tech. Our kids need to read, and write, and do math. Our education system ranks 45th in the country. We are below Mississippi by a long shot. Two-thirds of our fourth graders can't read at grade level. And what happens when that happens? You have a 70 percent chance of going to prison or being on welfare," Rogers said.
"This is the civil rights issue of our lifetime and we have to fix it. We can't have another generation being set up for poverty, dependency, and crime. 25 years, a quarter century of two Democrats representing Michigan in the United States Senate. They think the same way, they talk the same way, and they vote the same way," he continued, "and they're putting Michigan last. And what do we have to show for it? An education system that serves as a pipeline to poverty. 200,000 manufacturing jobs gone. The highest utility rates in the Midwest, the highest auto insurance in the United States. After 25 years of failed one-party rule, we can't afford to send the con man back to the United States Senate. We need to send a fighter for Michigan."
"When I get there, we're going to fix this. We're going to fight to bring down costs. We're going to pass the SAVE Act. We're going to take transgender flags out of our schools and put the American flags back in them. We're going to keep our border secure and fentanyl off our streets. We're going to stand up and defend all the things that Abdul El-Sayed hates: football, fireworks, the Fourth of July, neighbors who disagree with us, Ford pickup trucks, Mackinac Island, the Woodward Dream Cruise, the Second Amendment, and Michigan's finest — our law enforcement," Rogers said.
"Don't forget the dogs," he added.
"I spent my life serving this country. The United States Army, FBI special agent, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Never in a million years did I believe that I'd be running against somebody who cozies up to terrorist sympathizers and people who think America deserved 9/11. That does not represent you, it doesn't represent me, and it doesn't represent our values. And our values are worth fighting for," Rogers said. "I'm fighting so the next generation can have the same opportunities to build a life here in our state that we all did. I grew up here, I was born here."
🚨Mike Rogers DECLARES Michigan's best days are AHEAD: "We have a state to SAVE"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2026
"Michigan's best states are not behind us. They're waiting for us."
Rogers breaks down his BOLD vision for Michigan's future, issuing a POWERFUL rallying call to fight for opportunity, safety, and… pic.twitter.com/wyLsMdoZpC
Rogers finished strong with a message of optimism.
"Michigan's best days are not behind us. They're waiting for us. Let's get our kids learning, let's get Michigan building, let's get our neighborhoods safe, and bring back opportunities for our communities, and make things in Michigan again. Make Michigan a place where our kids and our grandkids want to stay, work, raise a family and build a future. We have a state to save. Let's get this done!"
Compare this to Abdul El-Sayed, who thinks America is a racist nation that must be transformed. The difference is clear, and Michiganders should not fall for El-Sayed's long con.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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