Abdul El-Sayed Launches Ad Blitz Attacking Mike Rogers Over Surveillance Support in Michigan Senate Race
On Tuesday, Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for the Senate, initiated a campaign featuring digital videos and billboards aimed at his rival Mike Rogers, focusing on Rogers' history with government surveillance. The advertisements, titled "Mike Rogers is watching you," will be displayed across Michigan leading up to the midterm elections. The video showcases Rogers endorsing the Patriot Act of 2001 and includes his 2013 comments regarding privacy infringements. Additionally, it points out his 2011 legislation permitting companies to share emails with the NSA and a 2014 proposal concerning metadata collection. El-Sayed links Rogers to privacy issues related to Flock cameras, while a spokesperson for Rogers asserted his opposition to their unchecked usage. The Cook Political Report labels the race as a toss-up. El-Sayed is scheduled to campaign with Barack Obama in late October.
Key facts
- Abdul El-Sayed launched digital video and billboard ads on Tuesday attacking Mike Rogers over surveillance support
- The ads carry the tagline "Mike Rogers is watching you" and will run in parts of Michigan
- The video quotes Rogers' 2013 statement: "You can't have your privacy violated if you don't know your privacy is violated"
- Rogers praised the Patriot Act of 2001, which allowed warrantless collection of Americans' telephone data after September 11
- Rogers introduced a 2011 bill allowing companies to share emails with the National Security Agency and a 2014 bill to end bulk metadata collection that never received a vote
- The Cook Political Report rates the Michigan Senate race a toss-up
- A Rogers spokesperson said he "vehemently opposes unchecked use of Flock cameras to track law-abiding citizens" and left Congress before the company was founded in 2017
- El-Sayed will rally with Barack Obama in late October and is expected to campaign with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Entities
Artists
- Abdul El-Sayed
- Mike Rogers
- Sherrod Brown
- Jon Husted
- Barack Obama
- Bernie Sanders
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Institutions
- Democratic Party
- Republican Party
- US Senate
- House Intelligence committee
- National Security Agency
- Cook Political Report
- Flock
- Wired
Locations
- Michigan
- United States
- Ohio
- Gaza
- Israel