PORT HURON, Mich. — President Donald Trump brought his midterm push to Michigan’s Canadian border on Sunday, spending more than 90 minutes on stage in Port Huron to boost two Republicans on the statewide ballot, U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers and governor nominee John James, nine days before the Nov. 3 election.
City officials said it was the first time a sitting president had visited St. Clair County. Rogers and James both addressed the crowd along with other members of the state Republican Party, and rapper Nicki Minaj also appeared on stage to urge a Republican vote.
The stop came one day after former President Barack Obama headlined a Democratic get-out-the-vote rally at Cass Technical High School in Detroit for Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and for Jocelyn Benson, the current secretary of state, who is running for governor. It was Obama’s first public appearance backing El-Sayed, who won a contested August primary.
The Senate seat is one of the most closely watched in the country. Republicans have not won a Michigan Senate race in 25 years, but the party views the open seat as a strong pickup chance. Two years ago Rogers, a onetime congressman who now has Trump’s endorsement, came up short against Democrat Elissa Slotkin for the other Senate seat, with a margin under half a point. A mid-October Marist poll of likely voters had El-Sayed at 50 percent and Rogers at 48 percent, inside the margin of error.
The governor’s race carries history as well. James, a Republican congressman, would become the first Black person to hold Michigan’s top office if he wins. El-Sayed, if elected, would be the Senate’s first Muslim member and its first Egyptian American.
Both rallies landed on the opening weekend of early in-person voting, which started Saturday, Oct. 24. Michigan voters can cast an early ballot through Sunday, Nov. 1, at an early voting site serving their community, which may differ from their usual Election Day precinct.
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