Former Michigan GOP Congressman Launches 2nd Senate Bid After Coming Up Short In 2024

Former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers is running for Senate again in Michigan, jumping into the race on Monday to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat.

Rogers said in his announcement video that Michigan “for too long” has “been represented by two-faced politicians who say they’re moderates but vote as radicals when they get elected.” Michigan has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1994, and last November, Rogers became the latest candidate in a long line of Michigan Republicans who failed to win back a Senate seat for the GOP when he lost to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin by more than 19,000 votes.

“As your next senator, I won’t just represent Michigan, I’ll fight for it,” Rogers said. “I’ll stand with President Trump, and we will deliver on the mandate given to him by the American people.”

“For me, it will always be America and Michigan first, rewarding hard work and investing in the skilled trades, cutting wasteful spending, lowering the costs of gas, groceries, and prescription drugs,” he added. “Alongside President Trump, I’ll fight to bring good, high-paying manufacturing jobs back to Michigan, and I guarantee we’ll protect Social Security for our seniors.”

President Trump needs strong allies in the Senate to help him deliver on the mandate given by the American people.

That means bringing manufacturing jobs back to Michigan, protecting seniors’ social security, lowering the costs of gas, groceries & prescription drugs, and… pic.twitter.com/MBNn5gcZ4t

— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) April 14, 2025

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, threw his support behind Rogers shortly after the Michigan Republican announced his run for Senate.

“Mike will always put Michigan first, fight for the needs of working families, and stand up to communist China,” Scott wrote on X. “Michigan is a battleground state, and with @MikeRogersForMI as our candidate, I know we will add this seat to President Trump’s Senate Majority in 2026.”

Rogers is the first high-profile Republican to jump into the 2026 Senate race. Tudor Dixon, the GOP’s 2022 gubernatorial nominee, is considering a Senate bid, but she has yet to make a decision. On the Democratic side, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow announced her run for the seat earlier this month. Michigan Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel is also considering a run. Former presidential candidate and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who recently moved to Michigan, ruled out a Senate run last month.

Rogers was endorsed by then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 election and appeared with him multiple times during campaign rallies in the Great Lakes State. Trump won Michigan over former Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 80,000 votes on his way to the White House, but Trump’s strong showing in the swing state didn’t trickle down the ballot enough to pull Rogers across the finish line.

Before he spent time in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2015, Rogers served in the U.S. Army and worked as a special agent for the FBI. He was also interviewed to potentially become the FBI director after Trump fired James Comey in 2017.