In Michigan’s Senate debate, former Representative Mike Rogers defended Flock Safety cameras as a way to catch people suspected of terrorism. He turned to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and asked, “Why would that bother you?” El-Sayed replied, “Go ahead and say it.” The exchange brought surveillance and political power to the stage as candidates competed for votes in a race polls described as tight and among the country’s most expensive Senate contests.
Who Gets to Watch
El-Sayed, who is of Egyptian descent, would become the country’s first Muslim senator if elected. On the campaign trail, he’s faced racist and Islamophobic attacks. Rogers repeatedly invoked Al Qaeda and Hamas, suggesting El-Sayed had support from people who backed those groups. El-Sayed’s campaign denied the claims and pointed to articles it said showed they were false or misleading.
The debate also exposed a dispute over who should control artificial intelligence companies. Rogers said local governments should decide whether to allow data centers, voiced hesitation about federal rules and backed a temporary pause on construction. El-Sayed hasn’t backed a moratorium, but he supports strong federal guardrails. He proposed that the public, rather than shareholders, appoint or democratically elect more than half the board members at leading AI companies. “If the corporations and their C.E.O.s are right that this is going to take nearly 50 percent of our white-collar jobs, I think it’s important for the public to have a real stake,” he said.
In Georgia, Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff repeatedly asked Representative Mike Collins how Trump’s tariffs had helped Georgians. Ossoff also criticized Collins’s support for the Iran war and his vote for Trump’s domestic policy bill, which included cuts to Medicaid and health insurance premiums. “Whatever Donald Trump says,” Ossoff said, “Mike Collins does.”
Votes, Money and the Machinery
Fundraising, party strategy and the prospect of controlling the Senate shaped the campaigns where these arguments played out. The election on Nov. 3 could help determine who controls the chamber. Democrats must retain all their Senate seats and flip at least four Republican-held seats, including three in states Trump has won three times. In the House, redistricting has reduced the number of competitive districts. Democrats need to flip three seats for a majority.
In Maine, Democratic challenger Troy Jackson said the campaign belonged to people across the state, not to him or Graham Platner, the initial Democratic nominee who withdrew after a rape allegation that Platner denied. “It’s the people across Maine — it’s their campaign,” Jackson said. Polls showed Jackson and Senator Susan Collins running neck-and-neck in a race that could affect Senate control. Asked about congressional term limits, Jackson said, “Absolutely. I mean, we have them in Maine. They work well.” Collins, running for a sixth term, answered, “That’s what you have elections for.”
In their debate, Collins and Jackson clashed over who pays and who profits. Jackson accused Collins and her husband of making money from the Iran war, citing her husband’s disclosed stockholdings in two aerospace companies with Pentagon contracts. Both companies’ stock prices had fallen since the war began. Collins called the accusation “absolutely outrageous” and demanded an apology. Jackson replied, “No, you owe me an apology.”
Campaigns Beyond the Debate Stage
In Syracuse, progressive groups Indivisible Onondaga County and CNY Solidarity Coalition were planning protests around Trump’s rally for Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor. Kevin Ryan, a spokesman for the Onondaga County Republican Committee, anticipated an “enthusiastic crowd.” The central venue, traffic and protests, he said, would bring “one heck of a time in downtown Syracuse.” Blakeman said voters would see that he had a relationship with Trump and that “when I call, he answers my phone.”
The midterms have also become a public audition for possible 2028 presidential candidates. California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned across several states and backed Proposition 50, a California map that could help Democrats gain as many as five House seats. Vice President JD Vance said he was “trying to help elect Republicans.” Other potential candidates — Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear, Ted Cruz, JB Pritzker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pete Buttigieg — were also campaigning, fundraising or supporting candidates.
The contest isn’t about whether political power will exist; it’s about who will wield it. At a Senate Democrats fundraiser, former President Obama warned that races showing a two- or three-point lead, or a tossup, could still be lost by two points. On the Republican side, allies voiced concern about the midterms as the party faced higher prices, a war with Iran and low approval for Trump. Laura Loomer called Trump’s rallies a “last-ditch effort” for candidates she described as “do-nothing.”