El-Sayed Taunts ‘Coward’ GOP Rival – Dares Him to ‘Five Debates’: ‘You Will Wither in Front of Your Own Crimes’

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed dared his Republican rival Mike Rogers to a series of “five debates” on Wednesday, using his primary victory speech to mock the Trump-backed candidate as a “coward” while accusing him of serving corporate interests over Michigan voters.

Speaking after Democratic rival Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) conceded the primary, El-Sayed framed the November contest as a choice between his “philosophy” for constituents – treating their concerns as he would his own – and what he described as Rogers’ “cynicism,” before turning his attention to the former congressman in a lengthy, personal attack.

“See, Mike’s a guy who spent 14 years in Congress with one goal – to figure out how to cash out the day he left,” El-Sayed said, accusing Rogers of taking “corporate check after corporate check after corporate check” before leaving Michigan for Florida after his time in Congress.

“So, Mike, if you want to be a Florida man, go be a Florida man. If you want to golf in Florida, go golf in Florida. But I promise you in November we are gonna send you back to Florida,” he said.

El-Sayed also accused Rogers of repeatedly siding with corporate interests, attacking his record on healthcare, energy and opioid legislation while arguing the Republican had put donors ahead of constituents.

He reserved some of his sharpest criticism for Rogers’ relationship with President Donald Trump, whose endorsement helped propel the Republican through his own primary.

“Mike Rogers is a guy who, believe it or not, went back to Florida so he could lick every single boot Donald Trump owns, to beg for his endorsement,” El-Sayed said. “I’m so sorry, if you want a senator who will lick some boots, fine, go vote for Mike Rogers. But if you want a guy who will stand up to President Trump, then you have your option right here.”

The Democratic nominee then trashed Rogers’ political record, calling him “the worst of all versions of the Republican Party.”

“He’s the worst of the neo-con version,” El-Sayed said. “I mean, he was in the House during the entirety of the Iraq war. He left because he got tired of it. And then he swore up and down he could never support Donald Trump until, of course, he was licking Donald Trump’s boots. So now he carries the burden of both of those things. Is he MAGA? Is he Neocon? No, man, he’s just a corporate sellout.”

El-Sayed ended his remarks by publicly challenging Rogers to a series of debates but taunting that he believed his rival was too much of a “coward” to accept: “So, Mike I’m going to say it right here, I know you’re gonna say no because you are a coward – Five debates! Alright?” he said. “If you’re willing to stand with me and have a conversation, you and I both know that you will wither in front of your own crimes.”

He continued: “But I’m gonna make sure Michiganders know about them, because by the time we’re done, you are not going to have safe quarter from people holding you accountable to what you’ve done for them here in Michigan. We will send you back to Florida where you belong.”

He closed by reiterating his direct challenge: “Five debates. I’m hoping for an answer today. It’s going to be a lot of fun my guy.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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