Michigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers did not appear at a televised debate against Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Tuesday night. With Rogers missing, El-Sayed used the event to take questions directly from Michigan voters.

El-Sayed immediately highlighted the Republican candidate’s absence. He contrasted Rogers’ decision to skip the Michigan event with his appearance at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas the previous week.

“The elephant was not in the room. The elephant decided that they did not want to be in the room. The elephant cowarded out. Although, the elephants were all in the room in Dallas,” El-Sayed said.

Rogers and the Michigan Republican Party blamed moderator Roop Raj for the candidate’s refusal to participate. They alleged that Raj had displayed “favoritism” toward El-Sayed, offering that complaint as the explanation for Rogers’ empty spot onstage.

El-Sayed’s campaign responded by pointing to Rogers’ earlier reaction to the proposed debate. When the idea was first raised during an interview with Raj last May, Rogers had expressed enthusiasm about participating.

That left Rogers trying to explain why a debate he once welcomed had suddenly become unacceptable. Meanwhile, El-Sayed remained at the televised event and fielded questions from voters without his Republican opponent present.

Rogers had found time one week earlier to serve as a featured speaker at the GOP midterm convention. During that appearance, he attacked El-Sayed while the Democratic candidate was not there and could not respond.

The convention largely gave Republicans an opportunity to proclaim their loyalty to President Donald Trump. Trump used the gathering to offer voters a bribe if they cast their ballots for Republican candidates.

The event did not attract many viewers. Even Fox News, which prominently featured the convention, drew lower ratings than it typically receives for its usual programming.

By staying away from the Michigan debate, Rogers also avoided questions about wealthy donors who have contributed to his campaigns. Many of those donors have been named in the Epstein files, according to the source account.

A Detroit Metro Times review found that Rogers has received nearly $4.7 million from these individuals since 2023. The amount placed another potentially uncomfortable subject safely beyond the reach of a direct debate exchange.

Rogers had also addressed the release of names from the Epstein files in 2025. At the time, he argued that the identities of some people included in those files should not be made public.

“You also have to protect somebody who got on an airplane and rode with him,” Rogers said. He argued that some people whose names appeared in the files might have had a “legitimate business reason” for meeting with Jeffrey Epstein.

None of those issues received a direct exchange between the two Senate candidates Tuesday night because Rogers was not there. Instead, El-Sayed had the televised stage and the opportunity to respond to voters on his own.

The absence comes as Michigan’s Senate contest remains a major target for both political parties. Polling has shown Rogers and El-Sayed running neck and neck, making every public appearance especially consequential in the closely watched race.

Republican donor Elon Musk has already spent more than $1 million to support Rogers. Yet when Michigan voters had the chance to see both candidates answering questions in the same televised debate, only El-Sayed bothered to show up.