Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers called for an end to the U.S. trade war with Canada, releasing a Wednesday ad that doesn’t mention President Donald Trump by name but creates new daylight with his tariff agenda.
“Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy,” Rogers, a Republican, says in a direct-to-camera commercial. “We need to end this tariff war – now. As Michigan’s senator, I’ll bring both parties together to lower your prices. That’s job No. 1.”
The video, posted on social media weeks before the midterm elections, is the latest step by Rogers to distance himself from Trump and a sign that Republicans are concerned about the electoral impact of his second-term policies.
Rogers is running in one of the top Senate battlegrounds of the 2026 cycle and narrowly trails his Democratic competitor, Abdul el Sayed, in the latest public polling.
Until now, Rogers has given the president space to pursue a more protectionist trade agenda. Earlier this year, he called tariffs “necessary” but not a “one-size-fits-all solution” after Trump slapped a 50% duty on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods.
His Wednesday ad echoes other in-cycle Republicans who see those tariffs as undermining both the economy and culture of border states.
The spot features Rogers seated at a bar with a Canadian beer in hand.
“Drinking a Labatt and watching the Red Wings – man, it just doesn’t get any more Michigan than that,” he says.
Rogers ends the commercial with a jab at el Sayed, accusing him of supporting a tax increase on Michigan voters due to his opposition to last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
His campaign is a second attempt at winning a Michigan Senate seat for Republicans after he came within 19,000 votes of defeating Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2024. Rogers previously represented Michigan for seven terms in the House.
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This time, Rogers is running in a midterm environment defined by cost-of-living concerns and the political headwinds that the party in power ordinarily faces.
Rogers took a separate step away from the president two weeks ago when he called for the war in Iran “to end – and end quickly.” The seven-month conflict has led to a spike in energy prices that Democrats are laying at the feet of Republicans.