OP-ED: IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE
“If we want the outcomes to change, our representation has to.”
In case you missed it… Army veteran, businessman, and Trump-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers penned an op-ed in Deadline Detroit, emphasizing how Democrats have controlled Michigan for years and done nothing but fail our state. If Michiganders want the outcomes to change, their representation has to.
Rogers: It’s time for change
March 4, 2026
Democrat leaders love to place the blame on everyone but themselves. But the truth is, they’ve failed our state and all the families they’re supposed to represent. It’s time for change in Michigan.
That’s why I’m in this race–to Get Michigan Working Again. After serving in Congress, I thought I was done for good when I stepped down in 2015. I got out because I don't believe you should be in office forever. It changes the way you think. So, I left and spent a decade in the private sector focusing on tech, cyber, and national security.
But I can’t sit back and watch as our Democrat leaders continue to fail our state. Democrats have controlled Michigan’s two Senate seats for 32 years. They have controlled Lansing for the better part of a decade. And what have we gotten for it?
We’re 44th in the country for education. We lost 28,000 manufacturing jobs from the time the Democrats took control of the state in January 2019 to March 2025. We have 122,000 empty lots in Detroit right now because the Left has measured success by how many houses we can tear down rather than how many houses we build.
We have four of the most violent cities in the country. And last year, we ranked 49th in the nation for population growth–only behind New York–because young people can’t find opportunities here any more. This is the Democrat record.
If we want the outcomes to change, our representation has to.
Step one, we need to make life more affordable. Biden and the Democrats already proved they didn’t care about affordability when they shot prices up with record high 9.1% inflation. Then, they doubled down by voting for what would have been the single largest tax hike in American history. I will fight to keep Michiganders’ money in their pockets through historic tax cuts such as no taxes on tips and overtime to provide meaningful relief while we keep cleaning up Biden’s mess on inflation.
Four-Point Plan
I also announced a four-point plan to unlock homeownership and restore the American Dream. We will assist with down payments by expanding 529 savings accounts to housing, lower interest rates by allowing families to build credit for timely payments, bring down purchase prices by ending the Democrats’ crippling over regulation, and encourage new homebuilding by adding incentives for homebuilders. This is about ownership, not bureaucracy. Opportunity, not obstacles. And restoring the American Dream.
Next, we need to rebuild our manufacturing base. Michigan was once the state that put the world on wheels, but Democrats threatened to drive our auto industry off the road by voting for job-killing EV mandates.
We also used to be the Arsenal of Democracy, but now the ships, tanks, and drones that used to be Made in Michigan are being made elsewhere. I will wear the President out in fighting to reshore manufacturing, land jobs in Michigan, and ensure we don’t lose out on any more manufacturing opportunities like we did with the Golden Dome.
And the job doesn’t stop there. I will work with President Trump to continue bringing down prescription drug prices and expand access to healthcare by making historic investments in rural healthcare–unlike the Democrats who unanimously voted against a landmark $50 billion investment in rural hospitals.
Bottom line: we need to make sure Michiganders get access to the care they need. This is an issue close to my heart. My brother suffered from severe, chronic pain. He wasn’t able to get access to the pain medication he needed to manage from day to day.
Debilitating Pain
In Congress, I voted to allow Americans who are suffering from debilitating pain to have access to the treatment they need to live comfortably, while keeping safeguards that prevent overprescription and addiction. The Democrats spreading lies about this issue while Michiganders suffer are turning their back on the very community of people they claim to help. People like my brother.
But that’s not the only time they’ve turned their back on Michigan families. Michigan didn’t drop to 44th in the nation for education by accident. It’s a result of failed leadership. Democrats repealed a law requiring that kids read at level by the 3rd grade to pass. If a kid can’t read at level by 4th grade, they have a 2/3rds chance of ending up in prison or on welfare. They’re sentencing an entire generation to poverty. We need to get kids reading again and get back to the basics like phonics.
Supporting kids also means keeping them safe. As a former FBI guy, I’ve seen the devastation of letting violent offenders roam free. It shakes me to my core to hear so many on the Left, including my opponents, call to defund the police–or abolish law enforcement agencies entirely. Michigan has four of the most violent cities in the country. We’re talking murders, rapes, assaults, and robberies. Real lives are on the line. These soft-on-crime, anti-law enforcement policies are a gamble we can’t afford to take.
Democrats can run from their record, but they can’t hide. Michigan deserves better.
This is personal for me. Michigan is my home. It’s where I was born and raised, went to college, spent my adult working life, and where I raised my own family. I will do everything I can to reverse the Democrats’ disasters and Get Michigan Working Again–for all the families who call our state home. You can bank on that.
Continue reading at Deadline Detroit
Learn more about Mike Rogers and his plan to Get Michigan Working Again at RogersForSenate.com.
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