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Newspaper endorsements may not mean as much as they used to, but the Detroit News may have made itself the exception in 2026.
On Wednesday, the Detroit News officially endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over far-left Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the tight Senate race in Michigan, giving a scathing critique of El-Sayed and "the Democratic Party's radical wing" more generally.
'It's impossible to know who he really is or where he would stand in the Senate.'
The News began by listing Rogers' political and professional qualifications and described Rogers as "the prototype of a United States Senator." After seven terms as a congressman and his work in the FBI and cybersecurity, "Rogers' experience, clear thinking, and temperament are bound to quickly vault him into the Senate's leadership ranks," which would be a major boon for Michigan's influence in Washington, the News claimed.
But the News dedicated most of the endorsement article to explaining why El-Sayed is wrong for the position — and the News team did not hold back.
The News' most significant concern about El-Sayed appears to be his attempts to cover up his previous radical positions, especially regarding Israel, the 9/11 attacks, and his apparent ideological alignment with the America- and Jew-hating influencer Hasan Piker:
He has deleted social media posts that reportedly called into question his attitude about America in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He's taken down roughly 100 YouTube videos that paint an unflattering picture of him and his cultural views. A candidate who feels the need to hide his past from voters is not someone who can be trusted to be the same person after Election Day as he was on the campaign trail.
RELATED: VIDEO: Mike Rogers crushes 'conman' Abdul El-Sayed for being a weirdo in BRUTAL political ad
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The News argued that, should he be elected, El-Sayed "would vote with the Democratic Party's radical wing," adding to the ranks of "anti-Israel members" of the Michigan Democrat congressional delegation. Though the News did not name others, Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) has made a career out of attacking Israel as an "apartheid state" that commits "genocide" against Palestinians.
The News also took a swipe at El-Sayed's friendliness with democratic socialists as well as his medical credentials, no small thing since El-Sayed has made his status as a "doctor" a prominent feature of his campaign.
"While El-Sayed holds a medical degree and has described himself as a physician, he does not have a license to practice medicine," the News noted.
The El-Sayed campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Once considered the "conservative" Detroit newspaper that provided a counterbalance to the left-leaning Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News' editorial team has spent at least a decade attacking President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
The News has never endorsed Trump, preferring Libertarian Gary Johnson in 2016 and giving no presidential endorsement in 2020 or 2024.
The News even slammed Trump in its endorsement of Rogers, insisting that the president's policies "have, without question, harmed" Michiganders. Nevertheless, the News conceded, "Voters should not lock themselves to a radical senator just to spite Trump."
"Mike Rogers is clearly the best choice for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat," the News asserted, while El-Sayed "has a thin career background that contains little to recommend him for one of the nation's most powerful leadership jobs."
"It's impossible to know who he really is or where he would stand in the Senate," the News said of El-Sayed.
The News shared its endorsement on X early Wednesday, and it quickly went viral. Multiple users have even characterized its takedown of El-Sayed as a "murder."
As might be expected, the Rogers campaign welcomed the endorsement.
Current polling shows a tight race. The RealClearPolling average gives El-Sayed a two-point edge over Rogers.
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