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Trump backed 2024 Republican Senate nominee in Michigan moves closer to making another run in 2026

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Trump backed 2024 Republican Senate nominee in Michigan moves closer to making another run in 2026

Former Rep. Mike Rogers is “strongly considering” a second straight Republican run for the Senate in the crucial battleground state of Michigan. 

The announcement from Rogers comes two days after two-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced he wouldn’t seek re-election in the 2026 midterms, which will force the Democrats to defend a key swing state seat as they try to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans.

Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats’ nominee, in last November’s election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.

The 61-year-old Rogers made his news in a social media statement released on Thursday in which he spotlighted his relationship with President Donald Trump and the “support” he has received from Michiganders.

GARY PETERS, DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FROM TRUMP STATE, WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

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Republican Senate nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, speaks alongside Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump during a campaign event hosted by Trump at the Falk Productions manufacturing facility on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. ( Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Rogers is a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress. A one-time GOP Trump critic who mulled a White House run of his own in 2024, Rogers later became a strong supporter of the then-Republican presidential nominee and won his endorsement last year.

“I’ve spent the last two years traveling across Michigan with the support of President Trump and millions of voters,” Rogers wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “What I learned more than anything is that hard-working Michiganders deserve strong and honest representation that will have President Trump’s back.”

MEET THE REPUBLICAN SENATOR TASKED WITH DEFENDING THE GOP’S SENATE MAJORITY IN 2026

Pointing to his 2024 showing, Rogers noted that “since receiving more votes than any other Republican candidate that has ever run for Senate in Michigan, the tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve received since November proves that our mission to send a real fighter to the US Senate has just begun.”

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He added that he and his wife Kristi “are strongly considering joining the fight once again ― to be the ally that President Trump needs and the leader that Michigan deserves. Good news is coming soon.”

Peters, a former House member first elected to the Senate in 2014, announced in a social media post that he would not seek re-election.

“Serving Michigan in the Congress has been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity the people of my home state have given me,” Peters, who steered the Senate Democrats campaign committee the past two elections cycles, said.

DEMOCRATS’ NEW SENATE CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS KEYS TO WINNING BACK MAJORITY IN 2026

Peters was one of three Democratic senators up for re-election in the 2026 midterms that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was planning to heavily target as they aim to expand their current 53-47 majority in the Senate. The other two Democrats are Sens. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

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Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is interviewed by Fox News Digital, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on August 19, 2024 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

While Rogers is the first Republican to publicly make a move toward launching a 2026 Senate campaign in Michigan, GOP sources tell Fox News others who may consider running are Rep. John James -who’s in his second term in the House and was the GOP Senate nominee in Michigan in 2018 and 2020 -, longtime Rep. Bill Huizenga, and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.

On Thursday evening, Dungy took his name out of contention, taking to social media to write, “Number 1, I’m not a politician and Number 2 I live in Florida.”

Hours after Peters’ announcement, there were developments in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who moved his residency from Indiana to Michigan a few years ago, signaled that he’s mulling a Senate bid.

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Then-Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg speaks on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

“Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve. He’s honored to be mentioned for this, and he’s taking a serious look,” a source familiar told Fox News.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan quickly took herself out of consideration.

WHO IS GARY PETERS? 7 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MICHIGAN SENATOR

“Governor Whitmer is grateful for Senator Peters’ service. She is proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the Senate,” a spokesperson for her political action committee, Fight Like Hell PAC, said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited. Whitmer is seen standing for a Fox News Digital interview on July 25, 2024 in Durham, New Hampshire.  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Responding to Peters’s news, NRSC chair Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina argued in a statement earlier this week that “Gary Peters is reading the room. After spending years ignoring illegal immigration and destroying his state’s auto industry, Michigan is better off without him.”

Scott emphasized that “we’re committed to giving them a fighter that will stand with President Trump to restore the economic prosperity and security of our country.”

The rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee noted that “no Republican has won a Michigan Senate race in 30 years – including last cycle when Democrats won an open Senate seat even as Trump won the state.”

And DSCC spokesman David Berstein also pledged that “Democrats will continue to hold this seat in 2026.” 

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Peters, in his statement on Tuesday, pledged “although I will not be on the ballot next year, I will not just walk away. I plan to actively campaign to ensure we elect a dynamic Democratic candidate to be the next U.S. Senator from Michigan.”

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Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult map in the 2024 cycle as they lost control of the majority. And while an early read of the 2026 map indicates they’ll play defense in Michigan, Georgia, and New Hampshire, they may have a couple of opportunities to go on offense.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for re-election in a reliably blue state. And Sen. Thom Tills of North Carolina is also up in 2026, in a battleground state Trump narrowly won this past November.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report

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Cleveland, OH

Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 22, 2026: Not Just Org Chart Noise

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Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 22, 2026: Not Just Org Chart Noise


CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!

There are mornings when I sit down at this keyboard, look at the Browns quarterback discourse, and wonder whether I should have gone into a more stable line of work. Such as selling timeshares from inside an office that has been lit on fire. Because here we are in late June, with no pads, no preseason games, no live pass rush, and apparently everyone from television personalities to team-adjacent announcers to webdorks like me has solved the Browns quarterback battle. That’s 90% of the news items out there this morning.

But I don’t care, and look on that endless speculative churning as simply being noise at this point.

One story that matters this morning is Andrew Healy leaving Cleveland for Minnesota, which I wrote about several days ago. He’s joining the Vikings as an assistant general manager.

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If your first reaction was, “Okay, front-office guy changes jobs, wake me when someone throws a slant,” I get it. Executives mostly become famous when something goes wrong, which is a cruel system, but, hey, I didn’t design the planet. I just live here.

But Healy’s departure is a real loss. Alec Lewis’ Athletic reporting had two quotes that should get your attention. Browns offensive analyst Dom Borsani called Healy “a little bit like a unicorn,” because he combined research background and technical aptitude with a traditional scouting lens and an understanding of coaching schemes. Former Browns senior software developer Zach Zelinsky, now with the Arizona Diamondbacks, called him “probably the smartest guy I’ve worked with in sports.”

That’s not normal praise. That’s not “great teammate, first guy in, last guy out” boilerplate. This is people inside the machine saying the Browns just lost one of the people who helped connect the spreadsheet world to the football world. And that matters because the modern NFL is not analytics versus scouting anymore — or at least it shouldn’t be. The good organizations are the ones where the numbers people understand what the scouts are seeing, the scouts trust that the numbers can challenge their assumptions, and the coaches don’t throw the laptop into Lake Erie.

Healy’s Sloan Sports Analytics bio says that, for the last five years, he “led the integration of data and advanced insights into all parts of football operations.” It also says he started with the Browns in 2016 as Senior Player Personnel Strategist, helping to develop methods for valuing players, making game decisions, and evaluating draft assets. Before that, he created projection systems for Football Outsiders, and before that, he was an economics professor with a Ph.D. from MIT. So, yes, he is smarter than your humble webdork. This is not a high bar, but still.

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So, naturally, I was worried about this and did what I always do when I’m looking for common-sense answers: I talked to Lane. He let me know what he “was told all the systems have been in place, with others handling the process. It doesn’t feel like they are overly concerned with his departure. As they have told me previously, you never like to lose assets, but you plan accordingly.”

The Browns still have Andrew Berry. They still have people in the research department. This is not a one-man shop collapsing because the smartest guy took his stapler to Minneapolis. But when you lose Paul DePodesta to the Rockies and Healy to the Vikings in the same general era, you lose institutional memory, decision-making frameworks, and the people who knew why certain models were built the way they were. Don’t expect the loss of the two to indicate much about how the Browns use analytics – it hasn’t fallen out of favor or suddenly joined Maurice Carthon’s playbook in the annals of football history.

This is the type of stuff fans don’t see until two years later, when the draft board feels different, the fourth-down decisions get twitchy, or the team suddenly stops finding value in places it used to find value. Maybe Berry replaces that brainpower cleanly. Maybe the remaining group steps forward. Maybe the Browns are fine. But losing a “unicorn” from a front office is like losing a left guard: nobody talks about it until the pressure starts coming up the middle.

Have a good one! GO BROWNS!

Newswire Bloviation Archive

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OBR ARTICLES

  • Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 21, 2026: Fighting for Football Lives
  • Rookie Year Expectations For The Cleveland Browns 2026 Draft Picks – Day Two

FROM THE FORUMS

INSIDER DISCUSSION (VIP)

  • Cleveland Browns News and Rumors June 21, 2026: Fighting for Football Lives

THE WATERCOOLER

THE LIFT

Positive news from the world of sports and beyond…

Space.com reports that scientists are drawing up a research blueprint to examine whether warming Mars is actually feasible — not because anyone should be selling lakefront property in Olympus Mons by Thursday, but because the work could help humanity understand what sustainable habitats beyond Earth would require. University of Chicago geophysical scientist Edwin Kite told Space.com, “We do not yet know enough to create a biosphere from scratch,” which is both humbling and oddly comforting. We can’t even get everyone to agree on the Browns quarterback depth chart, but sure, let’s keep the option open for Mars.

WRAPPING UP

When not trying to identify the precise moment quarterback analysis becomes interpretive dance, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.

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Illinois

Jimmy Awards: Park Ridge, Tinley Park students to make Broadway debut

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Jimmy Awards: Park Ridge, Tinley Park students to make Broadway debut


CHICAGO (WLS) — The Jimmy Awards honoring “theatre kids” is happening on Monday night in New York City!

Jane Nuich from Park Ridge and Logan Arroyo of Tinley Park will represent Illinois. They’ll be competing against over 100 students from across the nation.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

ABC7’s Hosea Sanders has been following their adventure that leads to a Broadway debut.

When asked if they’ve been intimidated about what’s to come, Arroyo said, “Yes, it’s scary. It’s a scary place, especially putting yourself out there on a stage or alone. I want to be an actor, and I will do whatever I can to do that.”

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Nuich added, “It’s a huge opportunity to work with industry professionals and with so many other talented young people. And you get to experience so much in New York in that short week. And it’s, I think, such a cool experience rather than a big competition.”

Sanders also Arroyo and Nuich what growing up in the Chicago area has done for their exposure and their goals.

“I think the immediate access to all of the theater that Chicago has to offer has been so incredible to me. As a young student of theater and young performer in theater, I think it’s been so educational to me, and so inspiring to be able to anywhere in Chicago in a quick moment from the suburbs to just see so much theater,” Nuich said. “I think it’s so comforting to know you’re surrounded by so many artists who are just as passionate as you. And I think that going into a career in this, it’s so incredible to be exposed to so many young performers who are so talented and passionate as this age.”

Arroyo added, “I’m so excited to be around people I care about and love this as much as I do.”

When asked what previous Illinois Jimmy winners have told the performs, Nuich said, “It goes by really fast, that a lot will happen, but it’s important to stay grounded and to take it all in and realize what a special experience it is, and you just keep working hard.”

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“My big dream is to do what I love and love myself for doing it,” Arroyo said.

Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Indiana

WHAS11

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