Mike Rogers, Adam Hollier mount potential comebacks
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Mike Rogers (left), and Adam Hollier at a microphone. Photos: Sarah Rice/Getty Images and Hollier campaign
Two Michigan candidates who lost previous races are seeking another shot at victory.
The big picture: After narrowly losing the U.S. Senate race last year to Democrat Elissa Slotkin, Republican Mike Rogers announced Monday he's running next year for Michigan's other Senate seat. Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, leaving it vacant.
- Also Monday, former state Sen. Adam Hollier launched his campaign to challenge U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar again for the 13th District U.S. House seat that includes part of Detroit.
Between the lines: The Senate race that Rogers is entering is expected to be among the most competitive in the country, with Republicans seeing it as a top opportunity to expand their majority.
- Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow launched her campaign earlier this month, and others reportedly considering running include U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
State of play: Rogers has further solidified his MAGA ties as he ramps up an effort to beat Democrats in a state that sided with President Trump last year.
- "Join the fight to send President Trump a strong ally in the Senate," the Rogers campaign wrote Monday in a fundraising post on social media.
For Hollier, running again is a chance to bring "bold solutions" while the country is in a crisis over housing, day care and grocery costs, his campaign said in a release.
- The release criticizes Thanedar over his use of taxpayer dollars in outsized advertising spending, which Thanedar refuted to the Detroit News.
Context: Incumbent Thanedar's 13th District win in 2022 ended Detroit's 70-year streak of Black representation in Congress. A 2026 win for Hollier would return Black representation for the supermajority-Black city.
- Hollier lost to Thanedar in the primary in 2022. In 2024, Hollier ran again, but his campaign ended early due to a signature scandal. He said he made a mistake trusting someone he shouldn't have and learned his lesson, per the Detroit News.