MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Back in the U.S., let's go to Michigan, where both of the Senate candidates have been focusing on urban areas with lots of voters, like Detroit and its suburbs. With about two weeks to go until Election Day, the Democrat in the race is also carrying his message into a Republican stronghold. Michigan Public Radio's Russ McNamara reports.
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ABDUL EL-SAYED: How are we doing, Marquette?
RUSS MCNAMARA, BYLINE: Hundreds packed a rally on the campus of Northern Michigan University to hear Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's stump speech last week. It capped a whirlwind three-stop tour, covering a couple hundred miles across the state's rural and rugged Upper Peninsula. The goal for El-Sayed is to reach out to Yoopers, a nickname for people who live in the Upper Peninsula, or UP, and draw in support from conservatives. It's a tall order. Approximately 60% of them voted for Donald Trump two years ago. El-Sayed told reporters that he learned a lot from this campaign trip to the UP and a prior one in June.
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EL-SAYED: Yoopers are commonsense, thoughtful people, and they don't like paying more in gas than they need to, don't like paying more in groceries. And they don't like being taken advantage of by a billionaire from New York.
MCNAMARA: Still, Yoopers have a healthy skepticism for outsiders, according to Republican state representative Karl Bohnak. He's well known here. Before entering politics, Karl Bohnak was a TV meteorologist for about 30 years. He's backing the Republican candidate in this toss-up race, former Congressman Mike Rogers.
KARL BOHNAK: To be honest with you, I don't pay much attention to Abdul. I don't even really know what his message is. I think he meant something like Medicare for All. But the only question I would have is, who's going to pay for that?
MCNAMARA: Healthcare is an issue in the Upper Peninsula, with many having to drive 100 miles or more to see a specialist. Data from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that nearly 1 in 3 UP residents are enrolled in Medicare, with 7% without insurance altogether. Bart Stupak was the last Democrat to represent the UP in the U.S. House choosing not to run for reelection in 2010. He endorsed Representative Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary but believes El-Sayed's messaging can resonate with Yoopers.
BART STUPAK: Just showing up helps him tremendously to try to connect with not just Democrats, but all the voters, even those Republicans who are disenchanted with the party right now.
MCNAMARA: Trips across rural Michigan are one part of a broader strategy to reach Republicans for El-Sayed.
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EL-SAYED: We got to be willing to invite them to a decision they have yet to make.
MCNAMARA: Speaking to a crowd in Escanaba, El-Sayed called on his supporters to connect with conservative family and friends to explain his key messages of Medicare for All and getting money out of politics.
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EL-SAYED: Reach out to them, OK? We have an opportunity to build our country, not just watch it get torn down.
MCNAMARA: While El-Sayed attempts to bridge a partisan gap, there is some hesitancy among moderates within his own party. In an interview late last week with Michigan Public Radio, former Congressman Stupak says some of El-Sayed's positions give him pause.
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STUPAK: I would have voted by now, but I just want to see how this plays out a little bit more. Yeah, I'm a Democrat, but that doesn't mean I vote for every Democrat that shows up on a ticket.
MCNAMARA: With razor-thin margins in this U.S. Senate race, rural conservatives would be a nice get for El-Sayed but mean little if he can't shore up his own base.
For NPR News, I'm Russ McNamara in Marquette, Michigan.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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