Curtis Hertel on 2026 Midterm Elections

Public disputes concerning the 2026 U.S. midterm election cycle, including campaigns, candidates, conventions, advertising, endorsements, and election-related policy promises.

How we classify topics

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

Statement history

2 statements on this page. Dates: September 10, 2026

2 matching statements. Dates: September 10, 2026

2 published statements. Dates: September 10, 2026

Condemned

2 published statements. Dates: September 10, 2026

2 statements on this page. Dates: September 10, 2026

Curtis Hertel

Role at the time: Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party

September 10, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

In a statement issued after Rogers's September 10 convention speech, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Rogers was "trafficking in dishonest, Islamophobic attacks" to distract from how, in Hertel's words, Rogers's and Trump's agenda is "spiking costs and hurting Michiganders." The Michigan Advance reported the statement.

“trafficking in dishonest, Islamophobic attacks because he wants to distract from how his and Trump’s agenda is spiking costs and hurting Michiganders.”

Open source

Rogers uses RNC midterm platform to attack El-Sayed as Dems push back against Islamophobic rhetoricSection headed "Democrats label Rogers' remarks as pure Islamophobia": Richner's statement in its opening paragraphs and Hertel's statement in its closing paragraphs.

Michigan Advance report by Ben Solis on Rogers's September 10 convention address and the responses to it. The address included the campaign-finance allegation. Neither Roxie Richner's nor Curtis Hertel's quoted words mention the funding sentence, so neither response is recorded as a denial of it.

Archived copy

Why we used this label

The reference point is Rogers's use of a 9/11 accusation against El-Sayed, and the Islamophobia charge El-Sayed raised in response. Hertel, reacting to Rogers's September 10 convention speech, called Rogers's attacks on El-Sayed dishonest and Islamophobic. The Michigan Advance framed the remark as a response to Rogers's rhetoric about El-Sayed's heritage, and Hertel's quoted words do not single out the 9/11 accusation. The statement expressly criticizes the conduct under scrutiny, so we labeled it Condemned.

Read statement Mike Rogers’s 9/11 accusation against Abdul El-Sayed

Curtis Hertel

Role at the time: Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party

September 10, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel criticized Rogers’s September 10 convention remarks as dangerous and desperate. The available reporting does not establish that Hertel specifically addressed the campaign-finance allegation.

“Rogers’ remarks were dangerous and desperate, and they were beneath the office he seeks.”

Open sourceRogers uses RNC midterm platform to attack El-Sayed as Dems push back against Islamophobic rhetoricSection headed "Democrats label Rogers' remarks as pure Islamophobia": Richner's statement in its opening paragraphs and Hertel's statement in its closing paragraphs.

Michigan Advance report by Ben Solis on Rogers's September 10 convention address and the responses to it. The address included the campaign-finance allegation. Neither Roxie Richner's nor Curtis Hertel's quoted words mention the funding sentence, so neither response is recorded as a denial of it.

Archived copy

Why we used this label

Hertel rejected the characterization advanced in Rogers's remarks. His statement concerned the address overall, so we do not treat it as a direct response to the campaign-finance claim.

Read statement Mike Rogers's allegation about Abdul El-Sayed's campaign received funding from a terrorist organization