Mike Rogers has declared his candidacy for Michigan’s Open US Senate seat, and “they are ready for the Rumble,” he told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview after his announcement Monday.
The former lawmaker has run campaigns that focus primarily on blue-collar issues, including revitalizing the middle class and returning manufacturing jobs to Michigan.
He says that Michigander of the political spectrum is embracing that message after years of middle class hollowed out while Democrats surrender to the supposed inevitability of rampaging globalism and the rise of China.
“Our vote shows Michigan is tracking to the right,” Rogers told Breitbart News Monday morning. “They understand that these liberal Democratic policies are not working. The truth is, for the last four years, in Michigan alone, under the governor. [Gretchen] Whitmer and Joe Biden lost 27,000 manufacturing industries. ”
“We are the country of manufacture here,” he continued. “It’s the middle class in Michigan. It’s just evaporating. They’re acknowledging that it’s not working. So the whole message for us is to stop the bleeding and turn this around.”
Rogers, the first Republican to announce his candidacy in 2026, won the fierce fighting primary in 2024 with the run of other Senate seats in Michigan. After entering that race late, he was framed by the then rep with a general election with a close finish. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
By entering this race early, Rodgers hopes to solidify his early support in November 2026 to lead him to victory.
“We were underfunded. We were late,” Rogers explained of his previous race. “70% of our money came after the primary election, and if you look at all of that information, 500,000 people voted early before talking to them. Getting in early is a key factor in eliminating those shortcomings.”
Rogers already plans to “have a lot of conversations across the state to make sure he won’t find himself on the same boat next year,” and he can also “really raise money.”
“We’re very aggressively avoiding the state, talking to the Union, not just our bases, but our expanded bases and independents, and the future of Michigan and the nation’s future,” he said. “And you can take your time and do things you didn’t have last time.”
Rogers’ early campaign was heavily supported by Senate Majority Leaders John Tune (R-SD) and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) in support of the National Republican Senators Committee on Monday morning. In a statement, Thune and Scott praised Rogers on his agenda of returning manufacturing jobs to Michigan and facing China.
“It’s huge because Democrats are already pouring money into Michigan. [support] – Tim Scott, the NRSC chair and majority leader, is important,” he said.
Michigan was a key state in Trump’s 2024 victory, winning all seven swing states. Rogers believes red in the state’s Senate seats is important to realise Trump’s promise to revitalize state manufacturing bases and bring prosperity to people.
“We’ve been Michigan’s GDP that has been stagnant for decades with around $600 billion in GDP, and we’re going to fix that,” Rogers told Breitbart News. “We can do better. I will be part of that advocacy for Michigan workers when I return to DC.”
Rogers knows the blueprint for getting the job done, and starts by supporting Trump’s first American agenda.
“Obviously, tax easing for working families – very important, lowering the prices of everyday goods, eggs and gasoline, protecting Social Security and Medicare. All of this will be staples, but we’ll be back in the nation so that the next generation of auto workers can find work,” he told Breitbart. “So there’s no reason to lose a manufacturing job. It’s 27,000 in the last four years. That’s ridiculous. It’s taking away the future of the middle class. It’s all because of Democrats’ policies.”
Reducing government waste in Washington is another priority needed to compete with China, and will be accepted by one voter.
“There’s nothing to go to work knowing that he’s waking up guys every day and taking his taxes out of his pocket are wasted on $200 billion,” Rogers said.
Rogers says Trump actively uses strategic tariffs to strengthen American manufacturing and communities, and knows that the US must “break the paradigm where China does not allow us but uses our market.”
“They believe it’s the right fight,” he said of Michigan voters. “Remember, these manufacturers have been said for 30 years. ‘No, no, we’re going to do something about China.’ Now, think about where the Democrats are about this. [China] You need to keep those jobs, let them continue with it so that you can pay 50 cents for your cheesy pool toys. I think people have changed their way of thinking. They understand that this is something we have to go through just to be fair. ”
Trump approved Rodgers during the 2024 race and he hopes to receive his support again.
“I don’t want to predict anything. Where is he?” Rogers revealed. “We know we’re in good shape with the president, and we want to get his support. And I think that the Thune and Tim Scott are doing well at this early stage, so we can focus on being Democrats this year and next year.”
Rogers denounced Democrats for Michigan’s practical, first and foremost moderate, but governing campaign as extremists. He ridiculed Whitmer on Wednesday to appear to be hiding behind a folder when he visited the oval office to discuss recovery efforts after an ice storm in Michigan.
“Well, it’s really to say to you, ‘Well, I’ll work with anyone’ and then put the folder on your face so that you don’t take a picture of you?
Rogers encourages voters interested in revitalizing the state to fall behind in his candidacy.
“We want them to join the team. They can come to Rogersforsenate.com to do that,” he told Breitbart News. “We’re building a pretty intensive ground game here to get people. We want people to be part of it, and this is going to crush it.
The Republican primary election will be on August 4th, 2026.
Bradley Jaye is the Associate Politics Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him X/Twitter and Instagram @Bradleyajaye.
