THE DETROIT NEWS: Rogers launches tenacious ground game in Senate race

Mike Rogers lost Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat last November in part because his campaign infrastructure didn't come together until late in the race — a misstep he is correcting now in his second Senate run.

Rogers contends with more time in the final weeks before the election, he could have closed the thin gap between him and now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin. After an infusion of outside spending for Rogers, her lead was steadily shrinking leading up to Election Day.

Now, with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, vacating his Senate seat, Rogers gets to try to prove his theory.

With the race 17 months away, Rogers already has put together a team to blanket the state, a sort of “Trump Force” — the name for Donald Trump’s army of volunteers brought together by the Republican National Committee during last fall's election. 

Rogers has secured support from a team of county chairs or co-chairs from all 83 Michigan counties — a volunteer force to help knock on doors, plan local campaign events, make inroads in the communities and generally be evangelists for his campaign. 

The list represents a diverse cross section of the Michigan GOP base — with support from major cities and rural areas — which is a promising sign for Rogers heading into any potential primary. He currently is the only announced Republican candidate.

He also secured endorsements on Day One of his campaign from U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso and 19 other senators.

Rogers’ show of force so early in the campaign is impressive.

Rogers no doubt hopes it will also help keep other potential candidates, such as Tudor Dixon or Rep. Bill Huizinga, R-Holland, from entering the race, which could be one of the most-watched and most expensive in the country.

The volunteers are active participants with community influence who are eager to help Rogers strategize.

“I told him that whenever he gets to our side of town, I’d be happy to do whatever is necessary to get the job done this time around,” says Frank Viviano, Macomb Township Supervisor and businessman who is on Rogers’ county leadership team. “I was born and raised here. Macomb County is an important community in elections. I think this is somewhere where I can help him.”

If Rogers can seal up Republican support without a divisive primary, it obviously puts him in a stronger position in the general election.

In the most advantageous setup Rogers could have had as a Republican in November 2024, with Trump atop the ticket, he still got 100,000 fewer votes in Michigan than Trump did. That's about the number that went to other right-leaning candidates in the Libertarian Party and the U.S. Taxpayers Party. 

Reclaiming those conservative voters will be critical if Rogers is succeed against an eventual Democratic nominee in 2026.

In a head-to-head matchup in a May poll by the Glengariff Group and the Detroit Regional Chamber, Rogers beat Democratic candidate state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, by four points and Abdul El-Sayed by six points. 

But he came in one point behind Congresswoman Haley Stevens of Birmingham in the same contest. Those three are announced Democratic hopefuls.

Rogers has said he knows what to do differently and better in his second campaign and teased that his organization will be the backbone of the entire Republican Party’s statewide apparatus.

“We’re going to run such a strong campaign and ground game that we’re going to help the gubernatorial candidate,” Rogers told me after he announced his candidacy in April. “Whoever comes out of the primary, we’re gonna help them plug into a robust statewide ground game. 

“We understand better how to help define for voters what that means for them much earlier.”