Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers used his first debate against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed to attack the former Wayne County health official’s use of the title “doctor,” calling him a “con man” who would be jailed if he tried to treat a patient.
El-Sayed, who led the Wayne County Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services before running for Senate, has long described himself as a doctor on the campaign trail. He holds a medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and attended the University of Michigan Medical School, but does not hold a medical license. According to Politico, his only hands-on patient care came during a four-week internship at a hospital in Manhattan.
“Well, he’s not really a doctor. He says he’s a physician,” Rogers said during Thursday’s debate. “[As a] matter of fact, if somebody came into his office and he tried to treat that patient, he’d go to jail.”
Rogers pressed further, telling voters not to take El-Sayed’s self-description at face value.
“Listen to this guy and what he’s trying to sell here today. You’re going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I’ve ever seen.”
Despite the attack, El-Sayed opened his own remarks at the debate by leaning into the label. “Look, I’m a doctor and I’m a dad,” he said, before pivoting to gas prices and the cost of living.
The Michigan Democrat’s résumé includes stints as a professor of epidemiology at Columbia, executive director of the Detroit Health Department, and director of Wayne County’s health, human and veterans services department. He currently lists himself as a “physician” and “epidemiologist” on LinkedIn, and has said on his podcast, “I’ve been a doctor my whole career.” He has also referenced watching nurses in medical emergencies, saying he’d “been in enough codes to watch who really does the work.”
Questions about his use of the doctor title first surfaced during his Democratic primary. El-Sayed has not offered a detailed explanation for continuing to call himself a physician without a license, and he brushed off the criticism again Thursday.
“Look, I have a medical degree from Columbia University. He can take it up with them. But it’s not really about me. It’s about whether or not you can see your doctor. It’s about whether or not you trust your next US senator to stand up to Trump and Trumpism.”
The exchange came as El-Sayed continued to push his “Medicare for All” single-payer health care plan, a central piece of his campaign that he has often tied to his medical background. Rogers argued the plan would be costly and would strip Michiganders of their private insurance, a charge El-Sayed denied.
Thursday’s debate was the first face-to-face meeting between Rogers and El-Sayed in the race, and it quickly turned combative, with both candidates working insults into their answers to moderators’ questions. The contest remains close: the latest RealClearPolitics polling average shows El-Sayed ahead of Rogers by 3.2 percentage points.
