Mike Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, announced on Sept. 6 that he will run as a Republican for Michigan’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat, which has been held by Democrats for more than 20 years.
Mr. Rogers will be looking to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who chose to run for Senate in 2000, vacating a House of Representatives seat that Mr. Rogers won before spending seven terms in the position.
Rogers then listed a number of issues he sees with the Biden administration, such as problems with immigration, the economy, education, and the legal system.
“Politics has gotten so small and so petty. We’re failing to address big problems,” Rogers said, pointing to the effort by progressives to “ban gas stoves” while families are struggling and China is stealing intellectual property. “We can do better,” said Rogers. “No candidate is better prepared to have an impact on Day 1. I’m ready to serve again.”
Following Mike Rogers’ announcement that he will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines issued a statement of support, saying, “Mike Rogers has devoted his life to serving the people of Michigan and holding communist China accountable.
“Mike is the type of candidate who can perform well with suburban Michiganders and be a strong part of the eventual ticket in Michigan. I am pleased to see Mike stepping up to run for the U.S. Senate.”
Rogers, 60, is the fourth Republican to enter the contest, following others like Nikki Snyder, a member of the state Board of Education.
Several Republicans, like former Representative Peter Meijer, are still weighing whether or not to run, so the number of candidates on the Republican side is likely to expand in the coming months.
Ms. Stabenow’s unexpected retirement announcement in January opened up a broad field to fill the seat she had held since 2001. A Republican has not been elected to the Senate seat for Michigan since 1994.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) entered the campaign in February and has since amassed substantial funding and endorsement, likely leading all other candidates up to this point.
Democrats possess a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate due only to Independent senators that currently caucus with Democrats. Republicans hope to flip that in 2024.
The party is facing a tough election cycle as they try to hold on to seats in states with a Republican slant, like West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio, so protecting their hold on the Michigan seat could be considered vital to the party.
After Ms. Stabenow’s decision, Mr. Rogers originally shut down reports that he was planning to compete for the Senate.
Mr. Rogers addressed his departure and return: “I thought I put politics behind me, but like you, I know something’s broken,” he said in the announcement video. “America under Biden and his cronies is going in the wrong direction.”
The campaign website for Mr. Rogers announced the launch, saying, “Mike Rogers is a conservative fighter and proven leader who will deliver results for Michigan families. Rogers will get government out of the way so that small businesses can thrive, unleash American innovation, return our schools’ focus to educating the next generation, and take action to secure our southern border and curb the growing threat from China.”
The site also explained that during his time in the private sector, the former congressman “built cyber security companies that protect small businesses from cyber security threats from bad acting nation states like China.”
