A video shared on X on Election Day shows CNN talking to two Michigan voters in White Lake who said they usually vote Democrat but were supporting Republican Mike Rogers. One of them said they had never voted for a Republican before and explained the decision by saying, “I’m against hate.” The clip has drawn online attention during the close Michigan Senate race between Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, as users reacted to the voters crossing party lines.
The clip shows a CNN reporter talking to a woman labeled Deborah and a man labeled Manny outside a polling place in White Lake, Michigan. The reporter asks Deborah if she voted for Haley Stevens in the primary but is now supporting a Republican. Deborah says yes.
The reporter then turns to Manny and asks who he voted for in the Senate race. He replies, “Mike Rogers.” When the reporter asks if he has voted for a Republican before, Manny answers, “Never.” The reporter follows up by asking about the significance of his vote that day. Manny responds, “Draw your own conclusions.” When asked why he is not voting for Abdul El-Sayed, he says, “Because I’m against hate.”
The interviews happened during Michigan’s close Senate race between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed. The post that shared the clip called the voters’ comments important on Election Day. The short video does not show how common these views are among other Democrats, and one reply pointed out that White Lake is a strongly Republican area.
How Viewers Are Responding to the White Lake Interviews
Some users saw the interviews as a sign that some Democrats were open to voting across party lines. One wrote, “Sane Democrats DO exist,” while another said, “at this point it’s just common sense.”
A third noted that “every single switched vote is actually equal to 2 votes.”
Others questioned how much the clip mattered. One user wrote, “Lol. White Lake is as red as you can get. Even if it were 2 Dem voters, that’s not making a difference. Also failed to show others like the centrist GOP guy voting Democrat because of Trump.”
Additional replies focused more on the broader Senate race. One user described Abdul El-Sayed as “much more than a racist… He is a racist, antisemite, misogynist, terrorist supporter, communist, Sharia apologist, and hates the U.S.”
Another said, “Maybe your boy should not have a relationship with this guy, *expletive*.”
It remains unclear whether the interviews will affect the Michigan Senate race beyond online discussion. The clip continues to circulate as viewers respond to the voters’ comments about their choice.
