Mike Rogers runs again for US Senate in Michigan, vowing to ‘stand with’ Trump

• Former US Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, announced Monday he is again seeking Michigan’s open US Senate seat
• Rogers previously ran for Senate seat in 2024 and narrowly lost to now-US. Sen. Elissa Slotkin
• US Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said in January he is not seeking reelection, setting up yet another competitive race in Michigan

LANSING — Former US Rep. Mike Rogers announced Monday he is again running for US Senate in Michigan, saying he’s prepared to “show up and do the hard work” if sent back to Washington. 

Rogers, a White Lake Republican who also ran for Senate last year, is the first high-profile Republican to officially enter the 2026 race to replace retiring Democrat Gary Peters, which is expected to draw national attention as the GOP targets a state President Donald Trump won last year.

“As your next senator, I won’t just represent Michigan, I’ll fight for it,” he said in a video announcement, vowing to “stand with” Trump and deliver on what Rogers called a “mandate given to him by the American people.”

Rogers, 61, represented Michigan in the US House from 2001 to 2015 and previously served in the Michigan Senate from 1994 to 2000. Before that, he served in the US Army and FBI.

He ran against now-US Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, in Michigan’s 2024 open US Senate race and lost by just over 19,000 votes in one of the closest races in the state. He underperformed Trump in Michigan by about 123,000 votes. 

In his Monday announcement, Rogers suggested that Slotkin, Peters, and Democratic US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were “two-faced politicians,” voting with their party despite claiming to be moderates. 

“That ends now,” Rogers said. “For me, it will always be America — and Michigan — first.”

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He went on to emphasize some priorities: Investing in skilled trades, cutting “wasteful spending,” and lowering the cost of “gas, groceries and prescription drugs.” 

Rogers also said he’ll work with Trump’s administration to bring “good, high-paying manufacturing jobs back to Michigan,” while guaranteeing to “protect Social Security for our seniors.”

“I’ll always fight for Michigan’s values in the United States Senate,” Rogers said. 

Democrats, though, criticized Rogers' latest run, noting he had moved to Florida after serving in the US House, an issue that dogged Rogers in his 2024 campaign, when he was building a new house back in Michigan. 

"Michiganders will once again see Rogers for who he is — a self-serving politician who is only ever looking out for himself, and they’ll reject him again just like they did in 2024,” Curtis Hertel Jr, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said in a statement. 

Rogers is the second Republican in the race, joining little-known Republican Fred Heurtebise of Luther, a one-time township clerk and welding engineer, who created a campaign committee last month and is running on full-throated support for Trump’s agenda. 

Other Republicans floated as possible Senate candidates include US Rep. Bill Huizenga of Holland, 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon and Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell.

As for Democrats, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, announced earlier this month her candidacy for US Senate. Other Democrats reportedly eyeing the field include US Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, who recently stepped down from his post leading Wayne County’s public health division.