Michigan's Senate race moved from the debate stage back to the road on Friday.

Republican Mike Rogers campaigned in Sterling Heights with Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. Outside a metal finishing company that Rogers said is gaining from factory jobs coming back to the U.S., Kennedy praised Rogers as "temperate" and said he had "seen Mike's fangs," The Washington Times reported. Kennedy called El-Sayed a product of the "Hamas wing" of the Democratic Party. "I'm not going to pretend that Republicans are perfect," he said. "But the other side's crazy, folks."

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed held a town hall in Lansing focused on "money out of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for all," WILX reported. He said Rogers made the debate personal. "I wanted to talk about public policy, he wanted to talk about me," El-Sayed said.

Thursday night's debate in Grand Rapids turned into a string of insults. Rogers called El-Sayed a "con man" and questioned his medical credentials, Fox News reported. El-Sayed, who holds a medical degree from Columbia University, said Rogers would "rubber stamp everything Donald Trump tells him." Both men said they would back pausing the federal gas tax, NBC News reported, but they split on the Iran war and on military aid to Israel. Rogers, who once supported Trump's tariffs on Canada, said he wants the trade fight to end.

The race is close. A Mitchell Research poll showed El-Sayed ahead by 4.2 points, inside the margin of error, WILX reported. Michigan State University political scientist Matt Grossmann told WILX that debates usually harden views, but in a race this tight, even small shifts matter.

The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and Republicans have not won a Senate race in Michigan since 1994. The second debate is Oct. 21.

What we know: Both candidates are courting voters after a nasty first debate, and polls show a tight race.
What we don't: Whether the debate moved any undecided voters.