Mike Rogers

The battle for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat is shaping up to be an ugly one.

Mike Rogers, the former Republican congressman backed by President Donald Trump, has begun exchanging barbs with progressive firebrand Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee.

The candidates, in social media posts and comments to the press, have traded attacks against each other's professional and personal traits, using powerful supporters to amplify boisterous broadsides.

The National Republican Senatorial Campaign, a congressional organization boosting GOP candidates, has referred to the Democrat by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, a tactic used by Republicans to highlight their opponents' ethnicity. An ad released by the group on Wednesday labels him the most radical candidate in the country.

"His support of terrorist organizations, socialist policies, and the defunding of law enforcement makes him dangerous and ultimately disqualified from serving," NRSC Chairman Tim Scott said in a statement accompanying the ad.

One of El-Sayed's strongest supporters, Senator Bernie Sanders, hit back at the organization Thursday over its characterization.

"The Republican Party and Mike Rogers are intellectually bankrupt," he said in an X post. "At a time when healthcare, groceries, housing and childcare are unaffordable, the best they can do is attack Abdul’s Muslim faith. Pathetic!"