Michigan Candidate Campaigns in Trump Strongholds After Pundits Predict Cold Welcome

Our campaign launched a week-long town hall tour across Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula earlier this month. We stopped in towns where Donald Trump won by thirty points. Pundits mocked us. My opponent, Mike Rogers, told reporters to expect "a cold welcome." I went anyway.

I went for the mother in Escanaba. She told me this was the first political rally she had ever attended. Not out of apathy. She simply said, "no one ever comes to Escanaba."

I heard that sentiment constantly. In Iron Mountain, Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Petoskey, Midland, and Caro, I spoke with Michiganders who feel politics has ignored them. Both parties share the blame for this neglect across the UP and Northern Michigan. Republicans take these voters for granted. Most Democrats don't even bother campaigning there.

I am running for Senate because no Michigander deserves to be left behind. Our team has held over 700 events in more than 120 cities. I have sat with people from all walks of life. They are hurting under the Rogers-Trump agenda. They are hungry for change.

We are seeing historic momentum in unlikely places. Rural districts from Escanaba to Port Huron to Cadillac are showing up in force. Hundreds of former Trump voters line up for hours to attend our town halls.

Why? Because they know they deserve better. They deserve relief from a broken system that has been failing long before Trump took office.

Our campaign is open to anyone searching for a better future. As senator, I will put Michigan first. I will fight for every single member of this state.

The greatest gift of campaigning is meeting Michiganders who trust me with their stories. No matter where I go, I hear the same complaint: It shouldn't be this hard.

Whether it is that mom in Escanaba, a farmer in Ithaca, or a teacher in Detroit, working Americans are struggling to afford gas, groceries, and healthcare. Meanwhile, billionaires and corporations grow richer.

This is the result of the disastrous Rogers-Trump agenda.

Experts estimate the average Michigan household pays $5,600 more due to Trump’s tariffs. Households also spend about $20 more every time they fill up a tank, a direct result of Trump’s dangerous Iran war.

The numbers speak for themselves. Working Michiganders are suffering. And our president is doing nothing to help. He is making it worse.

But my opponent, Mike Rogers, thinks the trade war is "an absolute win." He calls the Iran War a "win-win-win."

When we last met on the debate stage, Rogers could only say that the last two years of Trump’s presidency have been "amazing."

For Trump and Rogers, perhaps they have been. Trump reported at least $2.2 billion in income in 2025, his first year back in office. Since leaving Congress, Rogers ballooned his net worth to $14.6 million. He did this by advising the very corporations he once regulated as a legislator.

Rogers’ playbook is clear. He is just another cog in a political machine that delivers for special interests over the public.

Mike Rogers isn't just running for office. He is running to line his own pockets while Michiganders pay the price. It is a pattern he has maintained throughout his entire time in Congress.

Look at the receipts. Rogers accepted over $1 million from Big Pharma. What did he do with that influence? He voted 19 times against expanding children's health coverage and lowering prescription drug costs. The money came in, and working families stayed out.

The same script played out with Big Oil. Rogers took millions from the industry. Then he voted to raise gas prices. Wall Street followed suit. He accepted millions from financial giants, only to vote for higher credit rates. Every time, the special interests won. The public lost.

Then there is the Iran issue. Rogers backed Trump’s dangerous war with Iran. He did this after taking millions from Trump-aligned super PACs. Now, gas and groceries are spiking for Michiganders. The connection is hard to miss.

To be blunt: Rogers wins when working Michiganders lose.

I am running because I believe in a better way. I believe we win when we put Michigan first. Not billionaires. Not corporations. Not special interests. Just the people of this state.

My campaign rests on three simple principles. Money out of politics. Money in your pocket. Medicare for All. These are not abstract ideas. They are actionable steps to end politics as usual.

This Election Day, we have a choice. We can send Rogers home to his Florida mansion. Or we can vote for a leader who will always put Michigan first. The decision is clear.