‘Mike Rogers Is Watching You’: New Ad Blitz From Abdul El-Sayed Attacks Surveillance Support
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is leaning into one of the major complaints about surveillance from voters this election cycle.
A new ad campaign from Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is targeting Michigan Republican Mike Rogers' support for surveillance and government spying. The video-style ads aim to capitalize on bipartisan voter concerns about privacy, especially following the rise of Flock cameras and other law enforcement surveillance products.
El-Sayed's campaign highlights Rogers' past legislative actions, such as praising the Patriot Act of 2001 and supporting bills that allowed the collection of Americans' phone data without a warrant. The ads quote Rogers as saying in 2013, "You can’t have your privacy violated if you don’t know your privacy is violated," during his tenure as chairman of the House intelligence committee.
In addition to the digital ads, the El-Sayed campaign will place billboards across Michigan with the tagline "Mike Rogers is watching you." This strategy comes as El-Sayed battles Rogers in a Senate race rated as a toss-up, with pollsters predicting a tight race. While police agencies argue Flock cameras have helped reduce crime, recent incidents of abuse and misidentification have fueled public opposition.
El-Sayed's team is leveraging this sentiment to paint Rogers as a proponent of unchecked surveillance. The strategy has proven effective in other close Senate races, like Ohio, where Democrat Sherrod Brown linked Republican Jon Husted to state data centers. With the Senate race in Michigan remaining closely contested, El-Sayed's campaign is employing this tactic to connect voters' privacy concerns with Rogers' legislative history.
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