Justin Amash: “As people begin to learn about who Mike Rogers is, I think they’re gonna run away and run away fast.”
LANSING — The Detroit News reported that Justin Amash has entered the “crowded” Michigan GOP primary “that includes a rival from his days in Congress” as Amash tries to “block Rogers from becoming the party’s Senate nominee.”
Amash whacked Rogers for having the “worst voting record you could have in a Republican primary in 2024” and declared that he’d be “an easy candidate to defeat.” Rogers’ team fought back, saying Amash has “accomplished nothing for the people of Michigan.”
Amash and Rogers have a long, contentious history. They “repeatedly clashed” in Congress, and “Rogers even raised money for Amash primary opponent Brian Ellis in 2014.”
Read the Detroit News’ reporting on Amash entering the caustic GOP primary as the candidates “take shots” at each other:
Detroit News: Amash makes Republican bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan, takes shots at rival
- Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash… said Thursday he will run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, joining a crowded field that includes a rival from his days in Congress.
- “After thorough evaluating all aspects of a potential campaign, I’m convinced that no candidate would be better positioned to win both the Republican primary and the general election. That’s why, today, I’m making it official: I’m joining the race for United States Senate in Michigan,” Amash said in a post on X.
- …Businessman Sandy Pensler of Grosse Pointe Park, who jumped at the chance Thursday to bash Amash.
- “The Never Trump lane just got wider with Justin Amash joining CNN Mike Rogers and impeachment Peter Meijer in the Never Trump lane,” Pensler tweeted. “@MikeRogersForMI and @justinamash have spent 5 years bashing Trump openly. I am the only pro-Trump candidate with the resources that can win.”
- The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is backing Rogers, also took a swipe.
- “And here we thought Peter Meijer was the biggest Trump hater in this race,” NRSC spokesman Mike Berg tweeted, a reference to Meijer’s support for Trump’s second impeachment.
- Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said Amash’s entry into the race signals more “brutal” infighting in the GOP primary.
- “Their caustic showdown will leave them with a badly damaged nominee who is out of touch with Michigan families,” Barnes said in a statement. “Amash has an extensive record of leaving Michiganders behind: supporting dangerous abortion bans, vowing to gut health care access, and backing the 2017 tax giveaway to the wealthy and large corporations.”
- Jumping into the Senate primary was attractive to Amash in part for the opportunity to block Rogers from becoming the party’s Senate nominee, he said.
- “It’s attractive in large part because he’s an easy candidate to defeat. He has terrible positions,” Amash said.
- “His voting record is maybe the worst voting record you could have in a Republican primary in 2024, and as people begin to learn about who Mike Rogers is, I think they’re gonna run away and run away fast,” Amash added.
- “He’s terrible on every issue that Republican voters care about: He terrible on the Constitution. He’s terrible on process. He’s terrible on foreign policy and wars. He’s terrible on surveillance. He’s terrible on spending and debt — on all issues.”
- Amash while in Congress repeatedly clashed with Rogers, who chaired the House Intelligence panel, over Amash’s push for reforms to government surveillance methods and other national security issues when they served together. Rogers even raised money for Amash primary opponent Brian Ellis in 2014, though Amash won the primary by 15 percentage points that year.
- Amash’s Thursday announcement also knocked the former congressman from Brighton as the GOP establishment’s and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s “handpicked candidate,” saying Rogers “built his career on expanding the power of the state at the expense of individual liberty.”
- “Meanwhile, Justin has accomplished nothing for the people of Michigan, but has a distinguished Democrat voting record, including impeaching President Trump,” Rogers spokesman Chris Gustafson said. “We hope he finds a party that fits him one day.”
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