A bitter Michigan Senate race rattles Jewish and Muslim voters already on edge over the war in Gaza

Michigan's Senate contest between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim senator in the country if he wins on Nov. 3, has unsettled both Jewish and Arab American voters already strained by the war in Gaza. Rogers, a former congressman, has cast his opponent as an extremist and a danger to Jewish residents, hoping to peel off a usually Democratic bloc, especially in Oakland County, which has about 1. 3 million residents. He is appearing there with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Rogers's local GOP chair, Vance Patrick, says the effort is gaining ground, according to ABC News.

The backdrop includes a March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield by a Dearborn Heights man whose relatives had died in an Israeli airstrike. El-Sayed condemned the violence, then apologized after his remark that hurt people hurt people was criticized. Rogers and Donald Trump have tied El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, though ABC News reports there is no evidence of any affiliation, and El-Sayed called posts about his family hearsay.

Meanwhile, Democrats remain split. Haley Stevens, who lost the primary after about $30 million in AIPAC-affiliated spending on her behalf, endorsed him but has not campaigned alongside him.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News →