Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers feels confident about his chances against one particular Democrat, Abdul El-Sayed, in the upcoming election. Rogers made the comments during a private call with supporters last month.

El-Sayed’s Campaign Responds

El-Sayed’s campaign responded to Rogers’ comments, stating that he has built a strong general election coalition with over 10,000 volunteers and grassroots support across the state. El-Sayed’s spokeswoman, Roxie Richner, said, ‘Mike Rogers won’t be in ‘good shape’ in November, but the people of Michigan will be.’

Rogers, a former House member, is running for Senate again after losing a tight 2024 race to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin. He told supporters on the call that his campaign was in ‘pretty good shape’ overall and that he felt good about his chances if El-Sayed captures the Democratic nomination in the August 4 primary.

Rogers’ comments fit into a fierce debate in the Democratic primary about who is best equipped to retain the seat held by the retiring Sen. Gary Peters. El-Sayed is running as an unabashed progressive with the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders, while Rep. Haley Stevens is running as a more moderate candidate.

Rogers’ Strategy

Rogers told supporters that his campaign’s strategy is to let the Democrats ‘go at each other’ while his team builds up its strength over the summer. He also criticized El-Sayed, calling him a ‘democratic socialist’ who ‘doesn’t believe in the free-enterprise system.’ Rogers said, ‘I don’t think he likes America, candidly. He doesn’t demonstrate he does.’

El-Sayed’s campaign has shown strength in fundraising, outraising Stevens in the second quarter and announcing that he has already raised more than $3.3 million this month. Rogers and his campaign’s political director, Liam Putz, spoke repeatedly on the call about the benefits of running unopposed in the GOP primary while Democrats duke it out.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.