Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vice President JD Vance drew crowds to separate Michigan campaign events Thursday as they backed opposing candidates in one of the country's most closely watched Senate races.
Ocasio-Cortez joined Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed for a rally in Marquette, while Vance appeared alongside Republican Mike Rogers at the LevelUp Training Complex in Monroe.
Photos from the two events show supporters gathered to hear two prominent figures in their respective parties make their case ahead of the November 3 election.
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Ocasio-Cortez described the Marquette event as "packed" after taking the stage, while photographs from Vance's Monroe event showed supporters gathered inside the venue.
The images offer a look at the respective crowds, though photographs alone cannot establish precise attendance or provide a direct comparison between events held in different venues.
AOC Rallies With El-Sayed
Ocasio-Cortez used her Marquette appearance to accuse Republicans of attempting to make El-Sayed appear frightening to Michigan voters.
"What they're betting on is that if they can make you scared of him, then that means you won't listen to him," Ocasio-Cortez said. "They know that if people start listening to him, that they might like what they hear, and they don't want that to happen."
She also contrasted El-Sayed with Rogers.
"When no one was watching, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed was getting glasses for kids," Ocasio-Cortez said. "But when no one was looking, Mike Rogers was taking checks from pharmaceutical interests. When no one was watching, he went to go work for them in the revolving door after he left Congress."
El-Sayed focused part of his speech on affordability, saying it "should not be this hard" to buy groceries, fill a gas tank, afford a home or see a doctor.
"Shouldn't be this hard to keep our money here," he said. "Spend it on roads and bridges here, build our schools here, provide healthcare here."
Vance Attacks El-Sayed In Monroe
In Monroe, Vance delivered a sharply different assessment of El-Sayed, accusing him of focusing more on conflicts in the Middle East than issues facing Michigan.
"He's 10 times more interested in what's happening in Palestine than in Port Huron," Vance said. "He's way more interested in what's happening in Gaza than he is in what's happening in Grand Rapids."
Vance later described El-Sayed as "one of the worst people running in the history of the United States of America," prompting people in the crowd to shout, "Lock him up!"
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"Sir, you can say that but I can't," Vance responded.
America's vice president also called El-Sayed "a little weasel" who should "shut his mouth and show a little gratitude to the country that gave him everything."
El-Sayed responded during his appearance in Marquette, saying: "Let me tell you, nobody understands how deep and profound the gift of this country is, like a kid who was born here, but for the accident of history that allowed that to happen."
He later turned Vance's insult into a Michigan-Ohio rivalry joke.
"You know, it's funny. JD Vance called me a little weasel today," El-Sayed said. "I'm like, no, no, no. What you're talking about is a f***ing Wolverine."
"You could take your Buckeye and go shove it somewhere else," he added. "Here, we might be Wildcats, we might be Spartans, we might be Wolverines, but we will never be Buckeyes."
Michigan Race Remains Tight
The competing appearances brought national political attention to a race that could help determine control of the Senate after the midterm elections.
Recent polls have consistently shown a competitive contest. An InsiderAdvantage survey of 1,200 likely voters conducted on October 9 and October 10 put El-Sayed at 48 percent and Rogers at 46 percent, with 5 percent undecided.
A Quantus Insights poll conducted on October 5 and October 6 showed an even closer race, with El-Sayed at 48 percent and Rogers at 47 percent among 762 likely voters.
The rallies also showed the starkly different cases being made for the candidates in the final stretch of the campaign. Ocasio-Cortez argued Republicans were trying to make voters afraid of El-Sayed, while Vance portrayed the Democrat as a representative of the party's progressive wing whose priorities were out of step with Michigan.
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When it comes to which political star attracted the larger audience on Thursday, however, the photos from Monroe and Marquette allow readers to examine the respective crowds for themselves.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Edward T. Cummins