Sparks fly as Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers face off in first Michigan Senate debate

Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in for an hourlong debate Thursday. (USA Today Network; Reuters; Getty Images)GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The two candidates battling for Michigan’s open Senate seat tangled here Thursday over the war in Iran, gas prices and tariffs in a debate that often veered into mean-spirited sniping. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed sought to portray his Republican rival, former Rep. Mike Rogers, as a weak-willed loyalist to President Donald Trump who has rec