A MAGA Senate candidate’s eyebrow-raising attempt at drawing moderate Democratic voters to his camp seems to have backfired.
Mike Rogers, the Donald Trump-endorsed Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, shared a campaign ad on social media on Friday after progressive Abdul El-Sayed’s win over moderate Democrat Haley Stevens in the state’s Democratic primary.
The ad tried to sway Stevens voters toward his campaign, with Rogers repeatedly saying that, “You have a home with us,” while his wife, Kristi, sits silently beside him, making several faces throughout.
Social media users were quick to comment on the unsettling feeling of the video.
Travis Akers, a retired Naval intelligence officer, said that Rogers and his wife “look like Lifetime movie villains.”
One user replied with a close-up of Kristi’s face, which appeared angry, and said, “Why she mad?”
Another user shared a similar screenshot of her, saying, ”I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE F---ING TERRIFIED IN MY LIFE."
Joey Hannum, a spokesperson for Michigan Democrats, also called attention to a headline from the Detroit Metro Times, which read: “Millionaire Mike Rogers says voters blaming Trump for high prices are ‘nuts.’”
“Wow that’s crazy, btw what did you mean by this,” Hannum replied, sharing a screenshot of the headline.
Several other users also highlighted a January 2024 report from the Michigan Advance, which revealed the former state senator owns a $1.7 million estate in Cape Coral, Florida that was “his official residence until his decision to run for U.S. Senate.”
Reached for comment, Rogers’ campaign spokesperson Alyssa Brouillet told the Daily Beast in a statement: “This is exactly the problem. There’s so much hate, extremism, and polarization coming from Abdul and the far Left that many Democrats don’t even identify with their own party any more. To that, Mike Rogers says those disenfranchised Democrats have a home with us, and they’re already joining the team.”
It’s not the first time Rogers, 63, has caught heat for his self-promotion.
In June, GOP political operative Abby Ronson shared an AI-edited photo of Rogers on X making him appear much more muscular than he actually is, which led to a wave of criticism online.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Michigan’s next Senator, @MikeRogersForMI!!!” Ronson, a former staffer of House Speaker Mike Johnson and Georgia GOP Rep. Brian Jack, wrote in the post. “LET’S GET TO WORK 💪🏻🇺🇸”
The image, which featured the “Made with AI” tag, showed Rogers with sharply defined biceps and his pecs nearly bursting out of a tight-fitting shirt as he waved to supporters.
“This is gender affirming care,” replied Mallory McMorrow, who dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary in July.
The original image of Rogers was captured by Detroit News staff photographer David Guralnick at a Fourth of July parade in 2024.
