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With the brutal Michigan primary behind them and Abdul El-Sayed looking likely to be their nominee, Senate Democrats are immediately refocusing on Republican nominee Mike Rogers, according to new details shared first with Semafor.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is out with a six-figure ad buy starting Wednesday that hits Rogers for taking money from the drug industry and insurance companies, deeming him “the biggest name in corruption.”
Democrats also have new polling from GQR making the case that their nominee has “key advantages” over Rogers. That new polling, conducted in June, found President Donald Trump way underwater at 58% unfavorability and Rogers trailing a generic Democrat 50%-42%. The poll showed Rogers himself at 29% favorable and 32% unfavorable.
El-Sayed may have run his primary against the Democratic establishment, but if he wins, that establishment will be prepared to help him beat back a guaranteed barrage of GOP attacks.
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Rogers is a consensus GOP candidate, with backing from Trump and party leaders, who has run a general election campaign for more than a year. In a recent interview with Semafor, he previewed what could become a favorite attack line against El-Sayed.
“This guy can’t tell the truth. I would get used to and buckle up for a guy that is going to be the most untruthful candidate that we probably have ever seen in Michigan,” Rogers said.
He narrowly lost in 2024 to Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., even as Trump won the state — and given Trump’s nationwide swoon in approval ratings, Democrats see a path to defeating him again.
The polling memo finds Rogers is vulnerable because of his “record of taking contributions from corporate interests, voting in their favor, and then being rewarded by the same corporate interests with high-paying jobs after leaving Congress.” That portrayal, the Democratic pollsters found, is “a devastating narrative that drives voters away from him.”
Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the DSCC, said “Rogers is a flawed candidate with a bad record, and his baggage is going to sink him again in 2026 just like it did in 2024.”
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.