Mike Rogers

Democrat or Republican?

Mike Rogers is a Republican.

Life + Career

Rogers was born June 2nd in 1963 and grew up in Michigan. He graduated from Adrian College in criminal justice and sociology. Then he served in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1989, worked as an FBI special agent from 1989 to 1994, and was the U.S. representative of Michigan’s 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2015. During that time, from 2011 to 2015, he chaired the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was also a national security commentator for CNN. In 2024, he unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate, narrowly losing to Elissa Slotkin.

Key Policy Positions

• Housing

  • Supports expanding 529 education savings plans to support first-time homeownership by allowing tax-free contributions for any purpose, using funds for down payments and first-year property taxes without affecting private mortgage insurance (PMI) eligibility

  • Supports helping more people qualify for homeownership by letting renters build credit through on-time rent payments and allowing buyers to defer student loans while saving for a down payment with matching contributions 

  • Supports increasing housing supply by reducing federal and state housing regulations and creating tax-free residential housing zones to encourage new home construction 

China

Rogers has emphasized China as an economic and national-security threat, particularly Chinese efforts to obtain U.S. intellectual property.

Immigration

Rogers supports securing the southern border, increased border enforcement, and continued cooperation with ICE.

Education

Rogers opposes “blanket forgiveness” of student loans. He has also criticized what he described as “social engineering” in schools and called for greater emphasis on reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Healthcare

Rogers supports expanding access to Trump Rx and speeding up approval on lower cost generic options.

Rogers supports insurance companies being truthful and public. He supports having insurance companies (and hospitals) publicly posting prices for patients to understand what they’re paying before they receive care.

Rogers also has historically opposed Medicare drug-price negotiation, supported efforts to combat opioid abuse and addiction, and taken a pro-life/anti-abortion position.

Tax

Rogers supports creating residential housing zones where new construction is tax-free and is aligned with the Working Families Tax Cut.

Safety

Rogers has called on Detroit’s mayor to seek federal assistance and has supported Trump’s willingness to prove it. He also has said that the U.S. is threatened by China’s military.

Criticisms

Although Rogers says that China is a threat to the U.S., critics have pointed out that he still had past opposition to trade restrictions and post-Congress business ties with Chinese firms.

Sources: michwomen.com/blog/2026-candidates-for-michigan-us-senate, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Rogers_(Michigan_politician), intelligence.house.gov/2013/05/22/chairman-rogers-statement-on-the-report-by-the-commission-on-the-theft-of-american-intellectual-property, intelligence.house.gov/2012/06/13/rogers-and-ruppersberger-intensify-investigation-of-huawei-and-zte, rogersforsenate.com/news/rogers-statement-on-ice-arrest-of-criminal-illegal-alien-sex-offender-in-detroit, justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/5705/mike-rogers, guides.vote/guide/2024-michigan-us-senate-voters-guide, ontheissues.org/Social/Mike_Rogers_Education.htm, washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/06/mike-rogers-michigan-senate, rogersforsenate.com/news/rogers-announces-healthcare-plan-healthcare-that-works-for-working-families, bridgemi.com/michigan-government/mike-rogers-vs-abdul-el-sayed-7-issues-defining-michigans-us-senate-race, michiganadvance.com/2024/10/02/rogers-says-medicare-negotiating-drug-price-reductions-is-sugar-high-politics, gemi.com/michigan-government/mike-rogers-vows-fight-drug-war-urged-opioid-access-congress, politifact.com/factchecks/2024/sep/13/elissa-slotkin/claim-that-ivf-and-birth-control-could-go-away-und, rogersforsenate.com/housingplan, ogersforsenate.com/news/icymi-mike-rogers-on-fixing-what-the-democrats-broke, breitbart.com/politics/2025/09/07/exclusive-michigan-senate-candidate-mike-rogers-calls-national-guard-bust-detroit-crime/amp, politifact.com/factchecks/2024/aug/23/elissa-slotkin/claim-that-senate-candidate-mike-rogers-worked-to, washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/14/trump-national-guard-memphis-losangeles, theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/28/republicans-china-business-links-beijing