Byron Center, Michigan – Former Rep. Mike Rogers is pushing a populist message in an effort to flip Democratic-held Senate seats to the Republicans in key elections that will determine whether Democrats or Republicans will win a majority next year.
“Starting in November, we’re going to protect people who are living paycheck to paycheck,” the Michigan Republican Senate candidate said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “We’re going to protect them, and they know it.”
Two Michigan polls this month showed Democratic candidate Rep. Elissa Slotkin slightly ahead of Rogers, within the margin of error, in the race to succeed a retiring longtime Democrat. Senator Debbie Stabenow.
Rogers, a former FBI special agent who later served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee as a congressman, touted his Michigan roots.
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Former Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican Senate candidate, speaks at a campaign rally for former President Trump, hosted by vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance, in Byron Center, Michigan, on August 14, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
“If you’re from here, you go to a public high school here, you go to college here. You commit your adult life here. I think people understand that,” he emphasized.
Rogers emphasized that “we’re talking to people in places that matter, about things that matter in their lives.”
He was interviewed Wednesday in southwest Michigan after speaking at a rally hosted by Sen. J.D. Vance, former President Trump’s 2024 presidential running mate.
“The good news is they’re focused on issues that matter to people’s lives,” Rogers said of Trump and Vance.
Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump (L) listens to former Michigan U.S. Sen. candidate Mike Rogers speak during a campaign rally in Freeland, Michigan, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancia)
Rogers shared the story of a mother of four who attended who “cried in my arms because she’s struggling to feed her kids. It’s heartbreaking. She said this is her first run as a Republican.”
“When you’re a teacher and your father has five sons, you know the struggles that come with being a dad at the end of the month,” Rogers said, reflecting on his own childhood.
Democrats don’t believe Rogers’ message.
“Revolving Door Mike Rogers has shown he’s only fighting for himself. He got rich working for companies with ties to China, Saudi Arabia and megacorporations, and he left Michigan behind to move through the revolving door for cash,” said Tommy Garcia, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
“In November, Michiganders will see Rogers as a self-serving politician and will reject him,” Garcia predicted.
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Asked how the dramatic change at the top of the candidate slate was affecting his campaign, Rogers said, “I see Democrats gaining momentum.”
But, he added, “I thought that was going to happen anyway.”
Rogers said his campaign’s numbers had not changed, adding: “We’re still within the margin of error of our opponents.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) addresses United Auto Workers members and others at a rally after participating in the Detroit Labor Day Parade on September 4, 2023 in Detroit. (Bill Priano/Getty Images)
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The former congressman, who is backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and received President Trump’s endorsement earlier this year, handily won the Republican Senate primary this month.
Slotkin, who easily won the Democratic Senate primary, won the endorsement of the AFL-CIO’s Michigan chapter on Thursday, earning a key endorsement from the labor union.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
