Michigan
Conservative group spending $500K on first ad boosting Rogers for U.S. Senate
The conservative group AFP Action says it’s putting $500,000 behind its first ad in Michigan this year, boosting the campaign of Republican Mike Rogers, who is running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.
The spot will run as 30- and 15-second commercials on connected TV and digital platforms, according to AFP Action. The ad promotes Rogers in a positive light as a “statesman, not a politician” who rises above partisan divisions and will work to lower inflation and taxes ― likely in an effort to help Rogers’ name identification and standing among more centrist voters across the state.
“A strong, serious leader, Mike Rogers will go to Washington to get things done,” the narrator says.
The ad buy is among the first major investments in the Michigan U.S. Senate race by an outside group. AFP Action is affiliated with Americans for Prosperity, which is part of the billionaire Koch brothers’ political network that has spent millions bankrolling mostly Republican candidates and causes over the years.
The GOP hasn’t won a Senate seat in Michigan since 1994; however, Republicans see an opportunity to flip Michigan’s Senate seat this fall with the retirement of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, as a trio of top Democratic hopefuls deplete their war chests in a competitive primary contest that won’t be decided until August.
Rogers, former chair of the House Intelligence panel, narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. Outside spending in that race topped $143 million, according to OpenSecrets.
AFP Action said the ad marks the launch of its on-the-ground efforts to elect Rogers in Michigan, as it rolls out a statewide grassroots campaign to help the former seven-term congressman from White Lake Township.
The grassroots efforts involves targeted door-knocking by AFP staffers at voters’ homes that’s followed up with direct mail, digital advertising and phone outreach emphasizing the issues of the economy, government waste and safety, according to the group.
“Because our team lives and works in these communities, we know what issues matter most to families, and we’re committed to supporting leaders like Mike Rogers who will fight for opportunity, freedom, and a stronger future for Michigan,” said AFP Action Senior Adviser Tim Golding, who is leading the group’s efforts in Michigan.
“AFP Action has the grassroots infrastructure to engage voters early and consistently in support of Rogers and we will carry this strategy through Election Day.”
AFP Action endorsed Rogers last fall and said it soon after began collecting data, polling and research in the field with the goal of targeting 2 million voters to urge them to turn out for Rogers.
A statewide survey conducted for The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4) last month found Rogers enjoys a strong advantage in name identification among voters at 71%, though 17.5% viewed him favorably and 18.5% unfavorably, according to the survey. The telephone poll was conducted Jan. 2-6 and had a margin of error of plus-minus 4 percentage points.
The prominent Democrats running for Senate include U.S Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor.
The poll found Rogers and Stevens were effectively tied in a hypothetical matchup, with 44.1% favoring Rogers and 43.7% backing Stevens ― a difference of less than half a percentage point. About 12% were undecided.
The survey found Rogers leading El-Sayed by 6.4 percentage points (48% to 41.6%) and ahead of McMorrow by 3.3 percentage points (45.7% to 42.4%) in hypothetical head-to-head matchups.
The poll included a sample of 40.6% of likely voters who identify as Democrats, 40.3% Republicans and 18.2% independents.
mburke@detroitnews.com