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Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who is making another bid for a Michigan Senate seat after narrowly losing in 2024 by 20,000 votes, said Squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is pulling Democrats so far to the left that Republicans have a prime opportunity in November.
“The shift in the last few months has been pretty remarkable, and what that should do is terrify every Michigander that the state is lurching — the Democrat Party that is — has lurched so far to the left,” he told The Post in an interview.
“I mean, the crazy train has come to Michigan, and AOC is the engineer, and I think Bernie Sanders is shoveling the coal in. It’s crazy.”
He spoke Friday, days before two Democrats face off Tuesday in one of the nation’s most closely watched primary races of the election cycle — drawing Ocasio-Cortez and and fellow lefty Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to rallies across the state. The winner will take on Rogers, who is running unopposed in the Republican primary.
The Democratic contest pits establishment favorite Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) against progressive public health expert Abul El-Sayed, whose campaign has been boosted by endorsements from Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders. El-Sayed is considered the darling of democratic socialists, although he doesn’t call himself a member of the Democratic Socialists of America that has scored notable victories.
Stevens, meanwhile, has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and millions of dollars in outside spending, including support from AIPAC-aligned groups.
Outside groups have poured $60 million into the state, according to OpenSecrets data.
Recent polling suggests El-Sayed has the momentum. He holds a 10-point lead in the RealClearPolitics polling average, while a new Emerson College survey released Thursday found him leading Stevens 54% to 39%.
An earlier Michigan Education Association poll found Rogers defeating El-Sayed by 10 percentage points in a hypothetical general election while trailing Stevens by just one point, 46% to 45%.
Despite refusing to say which Democrat he would prefer to face, Rogers predicted the progressive insurgent has the momentum heading into Tuesday.
“What I do see is a trend that Abdul is probably the likely winner on Tuesday, and probably by double digits. I mean, the shift in the last few months has been pretty remarkable,” Rogers said.
The race has become increasingly bitter in the closing days.
Stevens called El-Sayed, a epidemiologist and podcast host, a “celebrity candidate.” El-Sayed took heat at the debate Monday for for his financial disclosure where he revealed he owned rental property in Dubai worth up to $250,000. But he urged supporters to “please stop” making fun of her Michigan accent online.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joined the fray to diss El-Sayed — who has accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza — as the “Pontiac Platner” in reference to former Maine Senate Democrat nominee Graham Platner. That followed El-Sayed saying progressive voters may need to take down Fetterman as an “ogre on a pike” to send a message about factional sway.
Rogers hopes to capitalize on the ideological war by stressing his roots and non-controversial issues like childhood reading and rebuilding the state’s defense industrial base. “I’m the only guy here that’s actually worked in a factory. I had to work my way through school with no silver spoon in my mouth,” he said.
He also represented counties north and west of Detroit from 2001-2015, served as an FBI agent, and once chaired the House Intelligence Committee before taking on-air gigs as a CNN commentator.
National Republicans view Michigan as one of their best pickup opportunities as they defend seats in other competitive states.
“They’ve already pledged to buy 45 million bucks worth of ads in September, October,” Rogers said.
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