Three debates in key Senate races Thursday night underscored how difficult the midterm elections have become, as candidates in Maine, Michigan and Georgia traded personal and heated attacks.
In Michigan, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, said former Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican, was a warmonger, while Mr. Rogers tried to link Dr. El-Sayed, a Muslim, to terrorism.
In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, called Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, a “bigot.”
And in Maine, Sen. Susan Collins demanded a public apology after her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, accused her and her husband of profiting from the war in Iran.
Here are five takeaways from the debates in three states that could determine control of the Senate.
Democrats have linked their opponents to Trump.
In all three debates, Democrats said Republicans were marching in step with the unpopular president.
Repeatedly, Mr. Jackson accused Ms. Collins of failing to use her power to oppose Trump administration policies that harmed Maine, including the war in Iran and tariffs. “We are in crisis right now,” he said of energy prices, “because she and her fellow Republicans would not stand up to Donald Trump.”
In Georgia, Mr. Ossoff repeatedly asked Mr. Collins how President Trump’s tariffs had helped Georgians, at one point calling them the “Mike Collins-Donald Trump tariffs.” Mr. Ossoff argued that economic hardship for farmers and rising health premiums for consumers were both “predictable,” but Mr. Collins still voted for the Trump-backed policies that contributed to them.
“Whatever Donald Trump says, Mike Collins does,” Mr. Ossoff said. “It doesn’t matter what it is. He doesn’t think for himself.”
And in Michigan, Dr. El-Sayed accused Mr. Rogers of being “a guy who wants to be a puppet for the Trump administration,” particularly over the war in Iran, which has driven up gasoline prices.
Debate questions put Republican candidates on the defensive.
You can usually tell who wins debates based on the questions. Offensive candidates can talk about issues that are good for them, while defensive ones try to change the subject to more favorable territory.
The problem for the Republican candidates in Thursday’s debates — as well as their compatriots running for office across the country — is that the issues at the heart of voters’ concerns this year are not good for them. Moderators asked questions about high gas prices, Mr. Trump’s tariffs, the war in Iran and immigration raids — all topics that forced Republicans to defend the Trump administration’s unpopular policies or explain why they are now skeptical of positions they once supported.
No questions were asked in the three debates about transgender athletes in youth sports, a topic that often divides Democrats and which Mr. Trump and the super PACs he controls have used to attack Democratic candidates.
During the debate in Michigan, Dr. El-Sayed was not asked about his association with Hasan Piker, the left-wing activist who campaigned with him in the primary but has since kept his distance. In Maine, Mr. Jackson was not asked whether he was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which endorsed his candidacy and supported his gubernatorial bid earlier this year.
Rogers attempted to link El-Sayed to terrorist groups. El-Sayed called Rogers desperate.
It took only 20 seconds after his first response, regarding the federal gas tax, for Dr. El-Sayed to attack Mr. Rogers for his support of the war in Iran.
There won’t be a single exchange during the debate without a personal attack, with both men frequently interrupting each other. The two argued over second homes – Mr. Rogers’s in Florida and Dr. El-Sayed’s overseas. Dr. El-Sayed, who was quicker and softer-spoken, got the better of Mr. Rogers in many of these exchanges, frustrating the former congressman.
Their jousting continued when they were no longer on the air.
“In 30 years of debate, I’ve never seen this go on during commercials, but it does,” said moderator Rick Ablin of the NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids.
Perhaps the most unpleasant and personal exchanges occurred when Mr. Rogers attempted to link Dr. El-Sayed to terrorist organizations. He said the man who is running to become the first Muslim in the Senate is “bought by Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, these people who support you, are putting this money into your campaign.”
There is no evidence that Dr. El-Sayed receives support from terrorist groups.
When he had a chance to speak without interruption, he called Mr. Rogers desperate.
“He wants it to be about everything but his own record,” Dr. El-Sayed said.
Accusations of Nazism and hatred have rocketed in Georgia.
Mr. Ossoff kicked off the debate in the Georgia Senate by calling it the “trial of Mike Collins.” He then began to pursue his case.
He accused the Republican congressman of hiring “half the Third Reich,” referring to former Collins aides who espoused white nationalist and anti-Semitic views. He criticized him for reposting a video in 2024 of white students taunting and mocking a black student with racist and crude remarks.
“If John Lewis walked from Selma to Montgomery today,” Mr. Ossoff said, “Mike Collins would grab a baton.”
Mr Collins said he had “condemned racism, anti-Semitism and hatred”. And he tried to turn the tables on Mr. Ossoff, who is Jewish, by criticizing the Democrat’s support for Dr. El-Sayed, who Mr. Collins said “hates Israel” and “loves Iran.”
Mr. Ossoff, who is the more refined debater, linked every political issue to Mr. Trump, while Mr. Collins, the owner of a trucking company, drew on his experience to suggest that he was more in touch with ordinary Georgians.
Jackson accused Collins of corruption. She accused him of lying.
Mr. Jackson changed his approach for the second debate of the week in the Maine Senate. He devoted far less attention to questioning Ms. Collins’ support for abortion rights and her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who joined the Supreme Court’s conservative majority that overturned Roe v. Wade. Instead, he has sharpened his attacks on rising costs, including the drastic increase in heating oil prices and accusations that Ms. Collins is abusing her position for personal gain.
“Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve seen power and corruption hold people back,” Mr. Jackson said of reports that the FBI last year closed an investigation into corruption allegations against an adviser to Ms. Collins.
This sparked a strong reaction from Ms Collins. She repeatedly accused Mr. Jackson — whom she called “Troy” throughout the debate — of lying about his record. “These allegations are absolutely false and have been proven to be false.” She also accused Mr Jackson of running “false advertisements” on the subject.
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