Mike Rogers
The former FBI agent and congressman is the Republican nominee for Michigan's open Senate seat, trailing Abdul El-Sayed in the polls while pressing Muslim Brotherhood allegations against him.
Mike Rogers heads into the November 3 vote as the Republican nominee for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, and he is running behind Abdul El-Sayed. A Mitchell Research poll has him down 51-44, with the RealClearPolitics average giving his opponent a 3.2-point edge. A former FBI agent and congressman running on manufacturing jobs and border security, Rogers stays closely aligned with Trump, who campaigned for him at a Port Huron rally and branded El-Sayed a 'jihadist.' Vice President JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz have also stumped for him.
His closing argument is about El-Sayed's loyalties. He has alleged, without evidence, that El-Sayed's campaign is funded by the Muslim Brotherhood, asking voters: 'Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?' In an October 21 debate he said El-Sayed takes money from groups supporting Hamas and Hezbollah; El-Sayed shot back that questioning his commitment to the Constitution was 'beneath you.' Rogers has also labeled his opponent 'anti-Jew.' Some of his own voters report burnout and care more about grocery, gas and health care costs than the attacks.
To narrow the margin he is targeting traditionally Democratic Black voters in Wayne County and Jewish voters, opening offices in Detroit's Black-owned business districts, pitching himself as a healer of Black-Arab American tensions, and drawing backing from prominent Jewish Michigan Democrats David Kramer and Jason Turkish. The United Democracy Project super PAC plans up to $9 million for him.
He has split with Trump on Canada, releasing an ad saying 'Canada is not our enemy' and calling for an end to the tariff war after he praised the broader tariffs at a Detroit Economic Club forum. El-Sayed mocked the pivot, saying Rogers 'must have had one too many of those Labatts.'
On their plate
Rogers heads into the November 3 vote trailing Abdul El-Sayed. A Mitchell Research poll has him down 51-44, with the RealClearPolitics average giving El-Sayed a 3.2-point edge. To narrow the margin he is targeting traditionally Democratic Black voters in Wayne County and Jewish voters.
Rogers has made his opponent's loyalties the closing argument, alleging without evidence that El-Sayed's campaign is funded by the Muslim Brotherhood and asking voters: 'Are you for America, or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?' In an October 21 televised debate he said El-Sayed takes money from groups supporting Hamas and Hezbollah and framed it as a national security risk; El-Sayed shot back that questioning his commitment to the Constitution was 'beneath you.' Rogers has also labeled El-Sayed 'anti-Jew,' questioned his response to the March 12 truck attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, and told a Howell rally he is running against 'the most radical, most extreme DSA-tied candidate in the country.'
Rogers is working to erode Democratic strongholds in the race's final days. He has opened campaign offices in Black-owned business districts in Detroit and pitched himself as the one who can heal Black-Arab American tensions, saying voters "know that there's one guy that can help heal that. That's us." He is also courting Jewish voters over rising campus antisemitism and has drawn public backing from prominent Jewish Michigan Democrats David Kramer and Jason Turkish, while a Marist poll keeps the race close at 50-48 and the United Democracy Project super PAC plans up to $9 million to support him in the final weeks.
At an October 20 Detroit Economic Club forum, Rogers praised Trump's tariffs for correcting '40 years of bad trade policy' but said the Canada tariffs were 'not the right direction.' Days later he released an ad declaring 'Canada is not our enemy' and calling for an end to the tariff war, a shift from September, when he called the tariffs necessary and backed keeping the Gordie Howe International Bridge closed for leverage; El-Sayed mocked the reversal, saying Rogers 'must have had one too many of those Labatts.' On AI, Rogers backs a national security framework and a narrow antitrust exemption so companies can cooperate on safety, and has attacked El-Sayed's push for 50 percent government ownership of AI firms as a communist model.
Trump, Vance and Cruz have all campaigned with Rogers in the closing stretch: Trump at a Port Huron rally where he called El-Sayed a 'jihadist' and a Muslim Brotherhood member, Vance at a Howell rally days before the November 3 vote, Cruz as a special guest at his Grosse Pointe Woods event as the race's rhetoric turned to accusations of anti-Americanism. At Port Huron, Rogers pitched housing affordability and the return of 'the 200,000 jobs that Democrats have chased out of our state and out of our country.' Some of his own voters, though, report burnout and worry more about grocery, gas and health care costs than about the attacks.
Key relationships
His Democratic opponent, whom he trails in the polls and attacks over alleged donor ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah, and over trade policy.
Rogers stays closely aligned with Trump, who is campaigning for him across Michigan in the race's final days.
The Texas senator headlined his Grosse Pointe Woods event as the race turned to accusations of anti-Americanism against El-Sayed.
A Democratic Majority for Israel board member and Michigan Democrat crossing party lines to back Rogers over El-Sayed, citing El-Sayed's Israel rhetoric.
