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Michigan Senate contest earns outsized attention from Trump

Republican Mike Rogers is trying to flip a Michigan Senate seat Democrats hold, and CBS News says the race is drawing outsized attention from Trump; a notable midterm battle.

On air: Vera Bullock on BBN Tonight
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▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN Tonight at 7:56 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are CBS News's, the jokes are ours.

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  1. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorDemocrats hold the Michigan Senate seat, Republican Mike Rogers wants it, and CBS News says the race is getting outsized attention from President Trump.

  2. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorJoining us from FCI Danbury is Lyle Osterhaut, inmate number forty thousand seven hundred eighteen.

  3. Lyle OsterhautThanks for having me, Vera. I run the library here, and I've followed this race closely since they gave me a newspaper subscription.

  4. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo why would a president spend so much attention on one Senate seat in one state?

  5. Lyle OsterhautBecause it's close, and when it's close you watch the drum. Purely a raffle matter. Nobody watches the drum like the man who loaded it.

  6. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe man who loaded what?

  7. Lyle OsterhautNothing. A hypothetical drum. I sharpen this pencil when I think about drums, and I'm told that is a healthy outlet.

  8. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorLet me ask you plainly. Democrats already hold the seat, so does Republican attention in Michigan mean this is a notable midterm battle?

  9. Lyle OsterhautAbsolutely. When a seat is worth fighting for, you count tickets, and I won't say how many it takes, but it's fewer than people think.

  10. Lyle OsterhautPurely a raffle matter.

  11. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorFewer tickets than people think?

  12. Lyle OsterhautI meant voters. Fewer voters than you'd think show up. My pencil is now a stub, so that's the end of my analysis.

  13. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorBut you still haven't told me what you're in for, and every answer tonight has gone back to a raffle.

  14. Lyle OsterhautA clerical mix-up. Purely a raffle matter. Look, if Rogers needs a strategist, I'm available in March, and I'm very good with a prize table.

  15. Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorWe'll pass that along. Is this call recorded?

  16. Lyle OsterhautPurely a raffle matter. Is it?

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The story so far

  1. Obama endorses El-Sayed in new Michigan Senate ad · Newsmax
  2. Michigan Senate hopeful pressed on streamer ties, Washington… · Washington Examiner
  3. El-Sayed calls AI an 'existential threat' in Michigan Senate race · The Hill
  4. AOC joins el Sayed's Michigan Senate campaign, 2028 ambitions in play · Washington Examiner
  5. El-Sayed's Second Amendment video draws fire in Michigan Senate race · Fox News
  6. Trump calls Michigan Senate nominee El Sayed a 'Muslim Brotherhood… · Washington Examiner
  7. Michigan Senate contest earns outsized attention from Trump (this story)

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