In the final days before Michigan's polls close, a Senate race that has drawn national attention is being tested not only by ballots but by the claims candidates make about one another. A broadcast interview and a subsequent fact-check have exposed how easily accusations of ideology, corporate capture, and personal wealth can outrun the evidence that supports them. Voters are left to sift a contest in which the line between political argument and verifiable fact has grown thin, and in which an old alliance has quietly shifted beneath their feet.
60 Minutes Fact-Checks El-Sayed and Rogers on Muslim Brotherhood, DTE, Net Worth and Policing Claims
Both candidates made claims that were false, misleading or unsupported
Mark
Why did CBS publish a fact-check alongside the interviews?
Mimi
They said the conversations are in the public interest and wanted to be transparent. Both candidates made claims that were false, misleading or unsupported, so they posted the full interviews with context.
Mark
Start with Rogers and the Muslim Brotherhood. Is the claim true?
Mimi
Partly. El-Sayed was one of 46 Egyptian-Americans who signed a letter to Morsi urging action against allies of the old regime. Morsi was a senior Brotherhood figure. But the letter isn't described as support for the Brotherhood, and El-Sayed denies ties and has disavowed it.
Luke
And the timing matters. The U.S. hadn't designated the group a terrorist organization then. The designation of some branches came this year.
Mark
What about El-Sayed saying DTE buys off politicians?
Mimi
The donations are real and public, including to most state legislators. But CBS found no evidence of improper payments for votes or regulatory decisions.
Luke
So the contributions are confirmed, while the claim of buying off is not. Those are different statements.
Mark
And the $14 million?
Mimi
Disclosures show Rogers' net worth rose to an estimated $7 million to $14 million or more after 2015. That is net worth, not earnings.
Luke
CBS couldn't verify he made $14 million. The yachts are shakier still: he registered two boats in Maryland, 32 and 39 feet, and sold one before registering the other.
Mark
Does the policing claim hold up?
Mimi
Partly. He did call for defunding the police in 2020 and now calls it a dumb, unnuanced slogan. His current platform backs more police funding.
Luke
Worth noting the DSA label is also wrong on membership. He isn't a member and the group hasn't endorsed him, though he has campaigned with figures like Ocasio-Cortez.
Il Polso
- A Democratic primary rival has crossed over to endorse the Republican opponent, leaving the Senate race in open turmoil just two days before polls close.
- Accusations of Muslim Brotherhood ties and terrorism-linked rhetoric have turned a campaign into a fight over who can be trusted.
- CBS fact-checkers found key claims from both candidates false, misleading, or unsupported, forcing each side to defend its record.
- El-Sayed's police-defunding slogan and his denial of socialism are being pressed against the record, while Rogers' wealth claims remain unverified.
- With the contest tight, the disputed claims now sit squarely in front of voters as the final hours tick down.
In the final days before Michigan's polls close, a Senate race that has drawn national attention is being tested not only by ballots but by the claims candidates make about one another. A broadcast interview and a subsequent fact-check have exposed how easily accusations of ideology, corporate capture, and personal wealth can outrun the evidence that supports them. Voters are left to sift a contest in which the line between political argument and verifiable fact has grown thin, and in which an old alliance has quietly shifted beneath their feet.
Two days before Michigan polls close, one of the country's most watched Senate races took a sharp turn at a Detroit church service. Rep. Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed, appeared with his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, and endorsed him. Her video message was blunt: she did not belong in El-Sayed's campaign. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the move a betrayal, and President Trump, who has backed Rogers, has labeled El-Sayed a "jihadist."
The turmoil followed a pair of extended 60 Minutes interviews with correspondent Ross Douthat, which CBS then fact-checked. Rogers said El-Sayed had backed the Muslim Brotherhood, pointing to a letter. CBS found El-Sayed had signed one of 46 Egyptian-American letters urging Mohamed Morsi to act against allies of the former ruler, and El-Sayed denies any ties to the group. El-Sayed, for his part, said the utility DTE buys off almost every politician in Michigan. CBS confirmed the company's heavy political giving but found no evidence of improper payments for votes.
El-Sayed also said Rogers made $14 million after leaving Congress. Disclosures show his household net worth grew substantially, but those figures measure wealth rather than earnings, so the claim could not be verified. Rogers, meanwhile, called El-Sayed a democratic socialist. El-Sayed rejects the label, saying simply, "I'm a capitalist." He did once call for defunding the police, in 2020, but now calls that slogan a dumb and unnuanced one and supports more police funding.
With the race tight, voters must now weigh these disputed claims against the record before the polls open.
Forty-eight hours before Michigan polls close, one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country took a sharp turn at a Detroit church service on Sunday. Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed by fewer than 15,000 votes, had been expected at a campaign event with him. She appeared instead with his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, and endorsed Rogers for the Senate.
"I don't belong in Abdul's campaign," Stevens said in a video posted on social media that day. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called her move a "despicable betrayal." Rogers is trying to become Michigan's first Republican U.S. senator in 25 years, while Democrats are trying to hold the seat. President Trump has backed Rogers on the trail and has called El-Sayed a "jihadist."
60 Minutes led its Sunday broadcast with the race. Correspondent Ross Douthat interviewed both candidates for more than an hour each in late October, covering the economy, healthcare, Israel and other issues. CBS News posted the extended interviews online and published a fact-check, saying both men made claims that were false, misleading or unsupported by its reporting.
Rogers said El-Sayed "wrote a letter in support for the Muslim Brotherhood" around 2012 and 2013, when the group took power in Egypt, and called it concerning because of El-Sayed's "ideology." CBS found that after the Arab Spring, El-Sayed was one of 46 Egyptian-Americans who signed a letter to Egypt's newly elected president, Mohamed Morsi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader. The letter urged Morsi to act against allies of the country's former authoritarian ruler. At that time the United States had not designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization; the Trump administration this year labeled some of its branches terrorist entities. El-Sayed denies any ties to the group and has publicly disavowed it.
El-Sayed, asked to name a long-entrenched monopoly, pointed to the utility DTE. He said it raised rates faster than in 46 other states over 20 years and "buys off almost every politician in our state." CBS confirmed that DTE and its political action committee have made extensive, publicly reported contributions to Michigan politicians, including a large majority of state legislators. But 60 Minutes found no evidence of improper payments in exchange for votes or regulatory decisions.
El-Sayed also said Rogers "made 14 million bucks" after leaving Congress, moved to Florida, and bought a mansion and two yachts. Financial disclosures show Rogers' household net worth rose substantially after he left office in 2015, to an estimated $7 million to $14 million or more. Those figures measure net worth, not earnings, and CBS could not verify that he made $14 million. On the boats, Rogers registered two in Maryland, one 32 feet and one 39 feet, and sold the first before registering the second.
Rogers called El-Sayed "a very gifted Democrat Socialist of America" and said his agenda included defunding the police and letting people out of prison. El-Sayed has campaigned with prominent Democratic socialists, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but he is not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the group has not officially endorsed him. Asked by Douthat whether he was ever a socialist, he answered, "No. I'm a capitalist."
The police claim has a basis. El-Sayed did call for defunding the police in 2020 after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. He now calls it "a pretty dumb and unnuanced slogan" that reflected the conversation of the moment. In the Senate campaign he has called for more funding for police recruitment, retention and retirement.
With the race tight and Stevens now in Rogers' corner, voters have two days to weigh these disputed claims before polls close.
Citazioni salienti
I don't belong in Abdul's campaign.— Rep. Haley Stevens, in a social media video
No. I'm a capitalist.— Abdul El-Sayed, when asked if he was ever a socialist
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Politics & Governance