Michigan election: Abdul El-Sayed's chances against Mike Rogers

What, 35 minutes until the polls close here in the great state of Michigan. We are waiting, all of us wondering what we're gonna learn at the end of this. We're gonna learn about what our neighbors, our friends, our family actually decided to do despite what the polls say. And Caitlin Buss and Michael LaRosa join us to kind of break down some perspective. All right, let's begin with the question about what Mike Rogers hopes for. Is it true, do you believe, that Mike Rogers is hoping that Dr. Al Sayed comes in so that he can draw a sharp contrast, a rebuke, and push him out of the race? I think six months ago, maybe that was his perspective. I think at this point, I think he's expressed like, hey, Abdul would be, I'm ready to go against him. I know privately and publicly he's expressed that. But I think someone on Fox News today said, at best, it's hard to stop a freight train. And so that depending on the weight behind that Abdul momentum, which we'll see here tonight, if it's really strong, I think Mike will be a bit worried. I think he feels very comfortable competing against Haley. I think the polling showed that that would split pretty evenly. And I think it's important to remember that after this primary, this will become a Michigan election again. This will become about what is the average independent voter, who do they want? Because they will determine where that balance is tipped. Michael, you and I were talking in the hallway and you actually alluded to that. You said, why is it that we're not hearing about Michigan centric issues? Things that really matter to people in Michigan. We're hearing about all these federal issues, which is, of course, what a senator does. But what else is it you're hoping to hear? Well, yeah. I mean, it seems like Al Sayed has launched his campaign and has prioritized what's going on abroad seven times in a way. So it will be really interesting to see how he fares under scrutiny when it comes to the weeds of policymaking and public policy debates, because he'll be quite new to that. Mike Rogers isn't if Al Sayed wins. But as you said, it will be really interesting to see the weight behind either of their victories. If Al Sayed wins, I'm going to look to see how that compares to that Biden 2020 turnout or that Whitmer 2018 turnout. I want to see how that's how you measure energy and sentiment and momentum. We'll have to see. Mike Rogers already starts off with about $2 million more money than him, so he will have to refill coffers. But it's also going to be a decision for the National Party. Is the National Party and its interest groups who typically spend a lot of resources and money on a state like this, on this ground zero purple state, are they going to be there for Al Sayed? The answer is probably, but I don't know. He's a rather problematic candidate who hangs around with some very problematic people that he campaigns with. Especially for moderates, independents and establishment Democrats. Separating yourself from some of the more extreme wing is probably best for you when you're trying to enter a general, right? Yeah, I think Abdul will have a very hard time in the general. I think there will be motivation on the Republican side just if he's on the ticket, and for a lot of different reasons. He has an uphill battle there. Like we've been saying, those ideas aren't going to get much traction. But I think he really has, and we've seen him express the long view. He's trying to build a movement, and he has his eyes on 2028 even.