Former Rep. Mike Rogers says he has a heck of a lot of fight still left in him to win the Senate seat in Michigan that will be vacated by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) when he retires at the end of his term in January 2027.
Rogers, the Republican native of lost Livonia, Michigan, who represented the state’s 8th Congressional District for seven terms, lost by a hair for the other Senate seat in 2024.
Following the launch of his campaign two weeks ago, Rogers is the first major Republican to announce his candidacy in what will be one of the hardest-fought seats in the 2026 midterm cycle.
Rogers said he learned a lot from that loss that he takes into this cycle, and he believes it will make him formidable in the 2026 run.
“Our numbers told us a lot about what we got right and what we have to get better, beginning with getting in the race earlier rather than later,” he said.
While Rogers eventually won that August primary and the endorsement of President Donald Trump, the contest between him, former Rep. Justin Amash, and physician Sherry O’Donnell became contentious and expensive.
Rogers said he dismisses anyone pointing out that he lost and therefore should not run again. “That didn’t stop Dave McCormick, and it didn’t stop Bernie Moreno in that primary,” he said of the two new senators from Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively, who lost in their first runs for their seats.
Rogers is reflective, saying sometimes we learn most from losing.
“When you look at that, you go, ‘OK, now we know what we did right, now we also know what we did wrong,’” Rogers said. “The good news is we got so many Republican votes that it puts us in a great position going into this next round. I don’t have to convince people who never voted for me or don’t know me. I have to convince people who voted for me that it is worth going out to the polls to do it again.”
Rogers is looking forward to visiting with voters in places such as Wayne, Oakland, Kent, and Saginaw counties.
“These are places where we need to take our message and make our argument,” he said. “We also need to spend more time meeting with a variety of ethnic groups and listen to what their needs are.”
Rogers recently did just that in Dearborn for a Lebanese community celebration. He said the celebration included a wide variety of ways to indulge in some great Lebanese food, and he admitted his favorite dishes were tabbouleh, shawarma, and pickled radishes.
Rogers says this time, he is starting early.
“We are listening and having real conversations with people, meeting with them where they are and learning what their concerns in their communities are.”
He said he understands the new conservative populist coalition has a substantial number of nontraditional Republican voters: the United Auto Workers, young people, and minorities.
“It is important to do substantive outreach and make sure their voice is part of our team,” he said.
Rogers says of the UAW that he understands them to a large extent because he worked in a car factory on the floor.
“We made Sebring convertibles,” he said. “Chrysler would make it, and we would make it a convertible. And I worked on the assembly line. It’s great work, and it’s important work, and that job helped me pay for college because it paid a lot higher than I could do by mowing lawns.”
Rogers said he can have these conversations with the workforce in a way that is relatable because he has walked the walk.
“So many of the Democrats have drifted far away from working people,” he said.
Rogers said workers seem to rate the tariffs higher than Wall Street and the legacy media.
“You can’t have countries charging us 25% to get a car in their country, and we don’t charge them anything, or we charge them 2% or whatever,” he said. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair to the American worker, No. 1. And it’s really not fair to anybody else that lives off this.”
There are still way too many people across Michigan living paycheck to paycheck, he believes.
“I say that a lot because we’ve lost so much manufacturing base in the state,” he said. “We’re still a manufacturing powerhouse. We should be. But we should grow it. And we can do that if we compete fairly around the world.”
Rogers said that because of the manufacturing legacy in the state, he thinks it is time to have a conversation with young people about thinking about shop class or trade school.
“The good news is that a younger population is starting to see you go to college, you sit in a cubicle all day, it doesn’t feel all that rewarding,” he explained.
MIKE ROGERS JUMPS INTO MICHIGAN SENATE RACE AGAIN
On Sunday, Joe Tate joined Michigan’s crowded Democratic primary side of the 2026 Senate race. He joins three other Democrats who have already declared a run for the seat: former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
Rogers said Michigan is ground zero for 2026 and for anyone who doubts his preparedness, he has an answer: “I am ready for it.”