Mike Rogers declared his candidacy for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat and is “ready to rumble,” he told Breitbart News Monday in an exclusive interview after his announcement.
The former Congressman is running a campaign focused largely on blue collar issues like revitalizing the middle class and bringing manufacturing jobs back to Michigan.
He says Michiganders across the political spectrum are receptive to that message after years of the middle class getting hollowed out while Democrats surrendered to the supposed inevitability of rampant globalism and the rise of China.
“Our polling shows us that Michigan is tracking to the right,” Rogers told Breitbart News Monday morning. “They understand that those Liberal Democrat policies aren’t working. Matter of fact, the last four years, Michigan alone, under Governor [Gretchen] Whitmer and Joe Biden, lost 27,000 manufacturing jobs.”
“We’re a manufacturing state here,” he continued. “That is the middle class of Michigan just being evaporated. They get it’s not working. And so, you know, the whole message for us is to stop the bleeding and turn this thing around.”
Rogers, the first Republican to announce his 2026 candidacy, won a hard-fought primary in 2024 in a run for Michigan’s other Senate seat. After entering that race late, he was edged out in the general election in a close finish by then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
By entering this race early, Rogers hopes to solidify early support to propel him to victory in November 2026.
“We were underfunded. We got in late,” Rogers explained of his previous race. “Seventy percent of our money came in after the primary. And if you look at all of those pieces of information, matter of fact, 500,000 people voted in early voting before we had the chance to talk to them. Getting in early is a key component to eliminate those shortcomings.”
Rogers is already planning to have “lots of conversations around the state to make sure that we’re not finding ourselves in that same boat next year” and will be “very aggressively raising money” as well.
“We are very aggressively getting around the state, talking to coalitions, talking to not only our base, but expanded base and independents, about the future of Michigan and future of the country,” he said. “And so time allows us to do those things that we just didn’t have last time.”
Rogers’ nascent campaign received a significant boost Monday morning with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the National Republicans Senatorial Committee, endorsing him. In statements, Thune and Scott praised Rogers for his agenda to bring manufacturing jobs back to Michigan and stand up to China.
“It’s huge, because the Democrats are already pouring money into Michigan, and so having that unified [support] — Tim Scott being the chairman of the NRSC and the majority leader at the same time — is significant,” he said. “And I think it sends a very clear message to national donors, to Michigan donors, hey, we’re united, and we’re going to win this race in next year.”
Michigan was a critical state in Trump’s 2024 win as he captured all seven swing states. Rogers believes turning the state’s Senate seat red is critical to deliver on Trump’s promise to revitalize the state’s manufacturing base and bring prosperity back to its people.
“We’ve been a stagnant GDP for decades at about $600 billion GDP in Michigan, and we’re going to fix that,” Rogers told Breitbart News. “We can and will do better, and I’m going to be a part of that advocacy for Michigan workers when I get back to DC.”
Rogers knows the blueprint to get the job done, and it starts by supporting Trump’s America First agenda.
“Obviously tax relief for working families — huge, hugely important, bringing down the prices of everyday goods, eggs, and gasoline, protecting Social Security, Medicare, all those are going to be staples, but getting manufacturing back to the state so the next generation of auto workers can find work, right?” he told Breitbart. “I mean, there is no reason we should be losing manufacturing jobs — 27,000 in the last four years. That’s ridiculous. That is robbing the middle class of a future, and that’s all because of Democrat policies.”
Cutting government waste in Washington is another necessary priority to compete against China, one voters will embrace.
“Nothing honks off a guy that gets up every day and goes to work like knowing that his tax money that they’re taking out of his pocket is being wasted to the tune of $200 billion,” Rogers said.
On Trump’s aggressive use of strategic tariffs to bolster American manufacturing jobs and communities, Rogers says voters know the U.S. must “break the paradigm where China won’t allow U.S. products in but is taking advantage of our market,” and that Trump is the dealmaker-in-chief who can make it happen.
“They believe it’s the right fight to have,” he said of Michigan voters. “Remember, these manufacturers have been told for 30 years, ‘no, no, no, we’re going to do something about China.’ Well, think about where the Democrats are on this. They’re basically arguing, ‘oh no, no, [China] should keep those jobs, let them keep doing it so you can pay 50 cents less for your cheesy pool toy.’ I think people’s mindset has shifted, and they understand this is what we have to go through just to get back to being fair.”
Trump endorsed Rogers during the 2024 race, and he is hopeful to receive his endorsement again.
“I don’t want to predict anything, where he’s going to be,” Rogers made clear. “I know we’re in good shape with the President. I’d love to have his endorsement. And I think getting Thune and Tim Scott on board this early bodes well for us rallying around and getting this thing done early so we can focus on beating Democrats this year and into next year.”
Rogers has blasted Democrats for campaigning as pragmatic, Michigan-first moderates but governing as radicals. He ridiculed Whitmer for appearing to hide behind a folder Wednesday when visiting the Oval Office to discuss recovery efforts after an ice storm in Michigan.
“I thought, well, that tells you, this whole thing, ‘well, I’ll work with anybody,’ and then to show up and put the folder over your face so you don’t get your picture taken? Really? That tells me you’re not all that interested in the future of Michigan and manufacturing here,” he said.
Rogers is encouraging voters interested in revitalizing the state to get behind his candidacy.
“We just want them to join the team. They can come to RogersforSenate.com to do that,” he told Breitbart News. “We are going to build a pretty intensive ground game here to get people turned out. We’d love for people to be a part of that. This is going to be a grind it out, let’s-get-the-work-done kind of a campaign, much like the grit of Michigan citizens.”
The Republican primary is August 4, 2026.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
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