Same race, different candidate in focus: how 38 outlets cover Michigan's Senate race

What every side reports

Outlets across the spectrum agree on the basic facts of the race:

• Rogers and El-Sayed are competing for the open seat left by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.
• They met in two televised debates covering health care, the economy, immigration and foreign policy.
• Both said they support a temporary pause on the federal gas tax.
• Rogers repeatedly questioned El-Sayed's loyalty and associations; El-Sayed tied Rogers to Donald Trump.
• El-Sayed has a medical degree from Columbia but is not a licensed practicing physician.
• Barack Obama endorsed and campaigned with El-Sayed, who addressed his past criticism of Obama's presidency.

Where the coverage splits: which candidate is the story

The clearest difference is who the coverage is about.

• Right-leaning coverage centers on El-Sayed. All three of its main framings are about him: that he presents himself as a doctor without a practicing license; that allegations about his family and activist ties are legitimate national-security questions; and that his reconciliation with Obama is a strategic move.
• Left-leaning coverage centers on Rogers's attacks. It casts the attacks on El-Sayed's faith, ethnicity and background as smears that distract from economic issues; portrays Rogers as a Trump loyalist shifting on tariffs and foreign policy as polls tighten; and highlights Trump's personal and religious rhetoric about El-Sayed.

What each side leaves out

• Left-leaning coverage often omits El-Sayed's 2012 essay criticizing Obama's presidency when covering their partnership, and the specifics of the family and activist ties being raised.
• Right-leaning coverage often omits that a medical degree confers the academic title "doctor" regardless of licensing, and rarely cites evidence or official findings behind the Muslim Brotherhood allegations. It also quotes Trump's attacks without the El-Sayed campaign's response.

Why it matters

Readers who follow only one side get the same core facts, but a different main character. Right-leaning readers mostly read about El-Sayed's background; left-leaning readers mostly read about the tone of the campaign against him. Neither framing is the full race.