6 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Candidates
6
Incumbent
Open seat
Parties
Democratic · Republican · Libertarian · Green · U.S. Taxpayers
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Medicare for All — guaranteed public health coverage, with supplemental private insurance retained for union-negotiated plans.
Getting money out of politics: banning corporate campaign money, ending gerrymandering, Supreme Court reform and abolishing the filibuster.
Abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he describes as a paramilitary force.
Regulating artificial intelligence and data centers as utilities, with binding commitments on electricity rates and clean energy.
Housing protections against corporate speculation and lower utility costs.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Health director for the City of Detroit, 2015–2017.
Director of Wayne County's Department of Health, Human and Veteran Services.
Candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Michigan in 2018; did not win the primary.
Won the August 4 2026 Democratic Senate primary with 48.5% of the vote.
Author of a book on single-payer health care.
Declines corporate PAC contributions; campaign states it is funded entirely by individual donors.
Arguments in favor
He won despite roughly $65 million in outside money spent against him and against an establishment that had consolidated behind his opponent, which supporters treat as proof of genuine grassroots strength rather than donor manufacture.
— Bridge Michigan reporting on the primary result
He would bring guaranteed health coverage and a working-people's economic agenda to the Senate, and has run public health agencies rather than only campaigned.
— Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the United Auto Workers, who endorsed him
He refuses corporate money and has made the influence of outside spending — including roughly $30 million from AIPAC in the primary — the central argument of his campaign.
— Abdul El-Sayed for Senate campaign
Arguments against
He is 'too radical for Michigan' — he wants to abolish ICE, abolish private health insurance, and defund the police, and he campaigned with anti-Israel commentator Hasan Piker.
— National Republican Senatorial Committee, in a June 2026 ad
His positions amount to 'complete insanity' rather than common sense: abolishing ICE, voter ID, gas-powered cars, private health insurance and police funding.
— Mike Rogers, his Republican opponent
His criticism of AIPAC functioned as a dog whistle that demonized mainstream Jewish civic engagement, and he has retreated from full single-payer by allowing private insurance alongside it while still calling it Medicare for All.
— Michigan Jewish Democratic Caucus, and Haley Stevens during the primary
What we couldn’t verify
Precisely how he would finance Medicare for All, and what the tax incidence would be.
Whether the Democratic establishment figures who backed Haley Stevens — including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sens. Peters and Stabenow — have endorsed him for the general election.
His position on current U.S. military aid levels to Israel, as distinct from his criticism of AIPAC's spending.
Tax cuts for working families and reviving manufacturing, including restoring shop classes in schools.
A housing plan allowing 529 education-savings withdrawals for down payments, paired with rolling back building regulation.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act, expanding the TrumpRx prescription drug programme, and price transparency with penalties for wrongful coverage denials.
A one-year moratorium on new data centre construction pending review.
Supporting President Trump's immigration enforcement strategy.
Standing with President Trump's agenda in the Senate.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative for Michigan's 8th district, 2001–2015; chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Michigan State Senator, 1995–2000.
Former FBI special agent and U.S. Army officer.
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan in 2024; lost to Elissa Slotkin by a narrow margin.
Worked as a corporate adviser and consultant in Washington after leaving Congress.
Backed by roughly $45 million in outside spending from the Senate Leadership Fund in this race.
Arguments in favor
His background as an FBI agent, Army officer and House Intelligence Committee chairman is the experience Michigan needs on security and immigration, and he came within a point of winning statewide in 2024.
— Rogers for Senate campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee
He is actively building a 'Democrats for Mike Rogers' coalition, and some Jewish Democrats concerned about his opponent's rhetoric on Israel have joined it.
— Reporting by The Hill and Bridge Michigan
His affordability agenda is concrete — tax cuts for working families, letting families draw on 529 accounts for a down payment, and reviving skilled-trades training.
— Rogers for Senate campaign, as reported by Bridge Michigan
Arguments against
He abandoned Michigan more than a decade ago for a multimillion-dollar Florida home, went through the revolving door to advise corporations on issues he had legislated, and enriched himself through Washington connections.
— Michigan Democratic Party
He has a record of fighting to ban abortion — calling Roe v. Wade a 'travesty,' backing bills that would ban abortion with no exceptions, and he would have opposed Michigan's Proposal 3 protecting reproductive rights.
— Michigan Democratic Party, following an anti-abortion group's endorsement of him
He has repeated Trump's false claims about the 2020 election and questioned his own 2024 loss, reversing his own 2021 statement that refusing to accept election results 'must end for the sake of our democratic republic.'
— Heather Digby Parton, Salon, and Bridge Michigan reporting
What we couldn’t verify
Where he currently maintains his primary residence; the campaign disputes the Florida characterisation and the question has not been settled by a neutral source located here.
Whether he supports a federal abortion restriction now, as distinct from his voting record in Congress.
The specifics of what would replace the Affordable Care Act for people currently covered through it.
Defending Second Amendment rights without qualification.
Opt-in rather than mandatory Medicaid and Social Security participation.
Tribal sovereignty and federal treaty obligations to Native nations.
Independence from party structures and large donors.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Nominated for U.S. Senate at the Libertarian Party of Michigan convention on June 28 2026.
Computer programmer and former factory worker; no prior elected office located.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No coverage critical of her by name could be located, so no arguments against her are recorded here rather than substituting criticism of the Libertarian Party generally.
Her positions on abortion, immigration and foreign policy could not be established; her campaign site returned only header content.
Whether she has filed with the FEC and any fundraising totals.
Natural Law Party platform positions; his specific 2026 policy positions could not be established from sources located.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Vice chair of the Natural Law Party of Michigan.
Activist on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign.
No elected office held.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
His stated positions on essentially every issue; no campaign website could be located.
No coverage critical of him by name could be located, so no arguments against him are recorded here.
Confirmation of his ballot qualification from the Michigan Secretary of State, which could not be retrieved; his inclusion rests on the Politics1 candidate listing alone.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Open seat: Democratic incumbent Gary Peters is retiring rather than seeking a third term. Roster established from NBC News and CNN primary results, Bridge Michigan, Michigan Advance and Politics1's Michigan candidate listing, cross-checked. Abdul El-Sayed won the August 4 2026 Democratic primary with 48.5% to Haley Stevens' 47.5% and Mallory McMorrow's 4.0%; Mike Rogers was unopposed in the Republican primary. Note that Wikipedia's race page reports the Democratic primary percentages inconsistently — NBC News, CNN and Bridge Michigan all report El-Sayed as the winner and are followed here. Michigan's Libertarian, Green, U.S. Taxpayers and Natural Law parties nominate by convention and all have ballot-qualified nominees; those four are included, but reporting on them is thin and none of them has published critical coverage that could be located, so their confidence is low.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Michigan ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.