Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cotton Endorses Mike Rogers In Michigan Senate Race

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton endorsed former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers on Thursday for Michigan’s open Senate seat, the Daily Caller News Foundation first learned.

Rogers, a National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recruit, is the clear frontrunner in the GOP primary, and will likely face Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in November. Cotton joined the likes of former President Donald Trump in backing Rogers, and argued he’ll help him fight the Chinese threat in the upper chamber, according to a press release exclusively shared with the DCNF.

“China is our greatest threat and we need leaders like fellow Army veteran Mike Rogers in the U.S. Senate to help stop them,” Cotton said in a statement. “Mike’s spent his career fighting China’s economic and military hostilities and leading the charge on calling out their efforts to undermine our security. I’m proud to join President Trump in endorsing Mike Rogers to be Michigan’s next U.S. Senator.”

Other GOP senators that have endorsed Rogers include Steve Daines of Montana, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Katie Britt of Alabama, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Joni Ernst of Iowa and John Kennedy of Louisiana, according to the campaign.

Republican Michigan Reps. Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain and Tim Walberg have also backed Rogers, as well as former Rep. Candice Miller and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

Craig quickly threw his support behind Rogers after suspending his own Senate campaign in mid-February to consider a 2025 mayoral campaign in Detroit. Former GOP Rep. Peter Meijer withdrew his candidacy on April 26, arguing that “the fundamentals of the race have changed significantly.”

Another former congressman, Justin Amash, is running in the Aug. 6 GOP primary for the open seat, as well as businessman Sandy Pensler, physician Sherry O’Donnell and numerous other lesser-known candidates. In 2019, Amash left the Republican Party and voted to impeach Trump.

An Emerson College survey released on May 3 found Rogers with 32% support among registered Republican voters, followed by Amash at 8%, Pensler at 3% and O’Donnell at 2%. The same pollster indicated Slotkin was ahead of Rogers by only two points, with 19% remaining undecided.