Vice President JD Vance is in Monroe, Michigan, Thursday to headline a Republican midterm rally, and city officials have shut down a stretch of Stewart Road for hours to accommodate the visit. The rally lands amid one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country, with Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed competing for the seat.
Vance is headed to Monroe for a midterm rally, according to CBS News Detroit, which reports the event is set for LevelUp Training Complex on Stewart Road, just east of U.S. 24/Telegraph Road. As WDIV ClickOnDetroit notes, the visit follows Michigan's first U.S. Senate debate of the year by just a week, keeping the Rogers-El-Sayed matchup squarely in the spotlight.
Published schedules for the rally do not agree. CBS News Detroit reports doors open at 1 p.m. with the event beginning at 2:45 p.m., while a separate report from WWMT says doors open at 10 a.m. with remarks beginning at noon. The Belleville News-Democrat offers yet another version, reporting doors at 10 a.m., the event itself starting at noon, and Vance's remarks beginning at 1:20 p.m.
Stewart Road Closure Details
Monroe officials have confirmed the logistics around the rally even as the timing remains murky. Stewart Road will close to through traffic between North Roessler Street/Dazarow Drive and the west side of the CSX Railroad tracks crossing, running from 1 to 6 p.m., according to CBS News Detroit's report on the road closure. Businesses within the closure area can stay open during the event and will remain accessible to customers, the outlet notes.
The rally is being organized by Trump 47 Committee Inc., according to a Republican National Committee release cited by the Belleville News-Democrat. Vance is also scheduled to sit down with CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil for a town hall with Michigan voters, set to air at 8 p.m. ET/PT Saturday on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+, per the same CBS News Detroit report on his Monroe visit.
A Senate Race That Keeps Tightening
Michigan's open Senate seat has become one of the most closely watched contests in the country, pitting El-Sayed against Rogers for a seat Republicans haven't held in 32 years, according to NBC News. A Mitchell Research and Communications poll conducted Oct. 1 showed El-Sayed leading Rogers 45.6% to 41.4%, with a 3.8% margin of error, per WWMT's reporting. Six separate polls conducted in late September and early October gave El-Sayed a lead ranging from 1 to 7 percentage points, as reported by Newsweek.
CNN's live midterm coverage describes Michigan's Senate seat as remaining a prime pickup opportunity for the GOP, underscoring why both parties are pouring national firepower into the state.
Issues Vance Is Expected to Raise
Vance is expected to use his remarks to address the midterm races broadly, touching on affordability, tariffs, immigration, health care, artificial intelligence, the war with Iran and the state of American democracy, according to CBS News Detroit. It marks his first appearance in Southeast Michigan since Aug. 31, when he spoke at an event in Sterling Heights, the same outlet notes.
Monroe's rally arrives amid a flurry of national campaign stops across Michigan this fall. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the state Oct. 24 for an event with El-Sayed, per WWMT, while New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is joining El-Sayed Thursday for a bus tour through areas that strongly favored President Donald Trump two years ago, according to CNN. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is also set to campaign in Michigan alongside Democratic congressional candidate Sean McCann in Kalamazoo, WWMT reports.
NBC News describes the Senate race as one of the most competitive and closely watched in the country. With Election Day approaching, Monroe's road closures and the dueling campaign schedules are a reminder of how much attention Michigan's Senate contest is drawing from both parties' biggest names.
