Original reporting / Michigan · Election 2026
Black and Jewish leaders back Rogers in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race.
Black and Jewish community leaders and members stood together in Troy on November 2 to support Mike Rogers and oppose Abdul El-Sayed. Original footage and reporting from the MIGOP press conference.
Troy,
Michigan.
Black and Jewish leaders called for unity behind Rogers.
Black and Jewish community leaders and members used the November 2 press conference in Troy to voice support for Mike Rogers, oppose Abdul El-Sayed and call for unity across racial and political lines.
MIGOP communications director Ted Goodman moderated the press conference, with eight guest speakers discussing their political choices, shared concerns and reasons for backing Rogers. Reporters then questioned the group about crossover voting and allegations made at the event.
Haley Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers the previous day was a major topic in the remarks. Speakers defended her decision and connected it to their own arguments for supporting a candidate across party lines. Bridge Michigan reported on her Sunday appearance with Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit.
Nov 01
Detroit: Stevens endorses Rogers
The U.S. representative appeared with the Republican U.S. Senate candidate at Perfecting Church on Sunday.
Read the Sunday reportingNov 02
Troy: Leaders call for unity behind Rogers
Speakers called for unity, voiced support for Rogers and criticized El-Sayed. Stevens’ endorsement was a recurring topic.
See MIGOP’s event announcementEpstein, Bowman and Nard describe their political choices.
Three moments from our camera in Troy. Watch each recording, or continue through the report.
University of Michigan Board of Regents nominee
Lena
Epstein.
Epstein defended political choice across party lines.
Lena Epstein, a Republican candidate for the University of Michigan Board of Regents, defended Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers as a matter of personal conviction. She criticized the backlash against Stevens and called for a more humane political culture.
Epstein also raised concerns about tensions on university campuses.
Pontiac school board candidate
Marcus Bowman.
Bowman urged people across racial and political lines to find common ground.
Watch BowmanUnity excerpt · 0:18An excerpt from Bowman’s prepared remarks. Original footage: Stephen Schumacher.
In this brief passage, Bowman put cooperation ahead of party affiliation. Later, during questions, he described the backlash he said he had experienced and argued that disagreement should remain possible without hostility.
Read the transcriptMichigan State Senate District 10 candidate
Michelle
Nard.
Watch NardRecorded excerpt · 2:04Nard defended the freedom to vote across party lines.
Nard also told immigrants dissatisfied with the country to leave. Later in her remarks, she related a family story about her political background.
Our recording begins mid-remark. Nard identifies her race as Senate District 10, the district listed by her campaign.
Read the transcriptThe speakers at the Troy press conference.
The formal sequence began with Goodman, followed by eight guests. The group included candidates, party officials and community figures, each offering a particular perspective on the election.
Schonbuch discussed his family’s political background. Tarver invoked civil-rights history and cooperation between Black and Jewish communities. Namou spoke about her Chaldean background; Tobin described his Jews for Mike Rogers group.
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Reporters asked about crossover voting and the event’s allegations.
The questions moved from the speakers’ support for Rogers to crossover voting and the evidence behind the organizers’ accusations.
Speakers discussed possible crossover voting and effects on other races. Those expectations were predictions, not polling or evidence of an election result.
A questioner identifying Reuters asked for evidence behind an allegation displayed at the event. Goodman responded with his interpretation of Abdul El-Sayed’s response to a synagogue attack. His answer did not independently establish the allegation.
Some questions are difficult to hear in the longer recording. The Midwesterner’s recording includes the Q&A and closing remarks.
Recordings, transcripts
and sources.
Return to an original recording, explore the broader event, or follow the reporting behind this account.
Transcripts
Transcripts cover the four original recordings below. Michelle Nard’s recording begins mid-remark.
Lena Epstein
00:01Good afternoon. My name is Lena Epstein. I'm honored to be here today with members of the Jewish and African-American community across the state
00:09We stand together and historically the Jewish community and the black community have come together and galvanized
00:16Around critical issues to advance what's best for Americans
00:22Haley Stevens was very brave yesterday. She told the world I'm not leaving my party
00:28I'm endorsing a candidate that's going to protect American freedom, democracy, and all
00:34of the values that our founding fathers established and that we as Americans hold dear.
00:39My friends, the University of Michigan is under siege today.
00:43Universities across Michigan are under siege, members of the Jewish community, the African-American
00:48community, but all communities are under siege.
00:51One of the reasons I'm running for U of M is to restore peace, unity, clarity on
00:56campus and beyond. I am so honored to stand here today as your nominee for U of M Regent,
01:02but more importantly as a concerned American. I could not be more excited about tomorrow. Please
01:08join me in coming together around Mike Rogers for U.S. Senate. Please join me in thanking
01:13Haley Stevens for her tremendous leadership. She really is a wonderful woman. Whether you agree
01:18with her policies or not, she's a wonderful strong person and watching her be lambasted
01:25by her so-called friends is so painful as a nominee to watch.
01:30We certainly do need to restore the humanity in the political process.
01:35I'm Lena Epstein. I'm honored to stand here with my colleagues today
01:38and I wish you all a wonderful day. Thank you.
01:44Thank you.
01:44Thank you.
01:45Thank you.
01:45Thank you.
Marcus Bowman
00:00Unify, not divide.
00:02And I think that's the most important thing we need to focus on here is
00:05the unity part.
00:07We all have to unify, black, white, independent, Democrat, Republican.
00:13It's all about unity, people over politics.
00:15And I feel that's my stance.
00:17Thanks.
Michelle Nard
00:00do it the way they say do it, or they will excommunicate you, which is what they've done.
00:05I give her great credit for standing up and doing that. I'm now running as a Republican.
00:10I'm able to speak the way that I want to speak. I'm able to support America. I'm able to carry
00:14the American flag. I'm able to tell my children that they can work and earn what they have. It's
00:20called the pursuit of happiness, not the giveaway. Okay, this is America. And I'm going to continue
00:26to do that. Win or lose tomorrow. I'm hoping to win. But win or lose tomorrow, this is where I'll be
00:31every day. Every time someone asks me about what America is, I will tell them America is free.
00:38We are free to make decisions. We're free to be a Democrat and vote Republican if that's what we
00:42want. But we're going to vote for people that believe in the fiber of this country. If you
00:47don't believe in the fiber of this country, then you're on the wrong side of the border.
00:51You need to go back. I'm not afraid to say that I live in a mostly Bangladesh community.
00:56I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to tell them if you are displeased with this freedom here,
01:01we invited you. We didn't even invite you. You came and we allowed you to come. If you do not
01:06like what you're saying, then there's planes and boats leaving every day. Okay. And I'm going
01:13to talk to the black community. You don't have to, there's nothing free. There's no free lunch.
01:18Back in the sixties, my dad was a Republican. My mother was a Democrat. When I was seven years old,
01:23LBJ came to his people came to our house and it was 12 of us, eight girls, four boys. And they
01:28told my mother, well, we're going to give you an extra $1,800. You got to look at it in the sixties.
01:32That's a lot of money. My mother was all for that. And my dad came out and said, no,
01:37we don't do that. We work for what we want. We don't do giveaways. He said it was a trick then.
01:42And this is a trick now. This is the 21st century. You work for what you want. And
01:46America is the greatest country on this planet. And we're going to keep it that way. We're a
01:51constitutional Republican, Republican, Republican, and we operate through democracy.
Ted Goodman
00:02All right, thank you for being here.
00:04Of course, we are just one day away
00:06from one of the most important elections of our generation.
00:12And of course, recently, we saw Democrat Representative Haley
00:16Stevens come out in full support of Republican Mike
00:21Rogers for US Senate, because Representative Stevens
00:25is putting country, she is putting her community,
00:28and she's putting people ahead of politics.
00:32In fact, she's putting people before power.
00:35And it is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable
00:41how Abdul El-Sayed and Democrat Party leaders
00:45are now treating Representative Stevens.
00:49And this isn't about partisan politics.
Sources
- The Midwesterner · Longer conference recording
Formal remarks, questions and closing. November 2, 2026.
- Michigan Republican Party · Event announcement
The organizer’s account of the Troy press conference.
- Bridge Michigan · The Sunday endorsement
Background on Stevens’ appearance with Rogers and the responses.
- FOX 2 Detroit · Coverage of the Troy event
Local television coverage published November 2.
About this reporting
Stephen Schumacher filmed the original recordings in this article. The account also draws on The Midwesterner’s longer recording and the reporting linked above.
Bowman was introduced as a trustee; this article identifies him as a Pontiac school board candidate, as listed in his candidate interview. Nard was introduced with District 2 but identified her race as District 10, which her campaign confirms.
Statements about campus conditions, political hostility and voter behavior are attributed to the speakers who made them.
