Mike Rogers: “’You know what, let’s put police officers […] as our poll watchers in Detroit.’ Because, go ahead: Try to intimidate them. Please.”
LANSING — Failed GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers was slammed by Michigan leaders this week amid reports that Rogers wants to recruit current and former police officers to monitor Detroit polling locations and “flash their badges at voters.”
Meanwhile, as Rogers faces backlash for trying to “revive a strategy historically used to scare or intimidate voters of color,” he has spent the past week doubling down, refusing to acknowledge concerns about voter suppression, and publicly questioning the results of his 2024 Senate race.
Read what Michigan leaders are saying:
- Former Lt. Governor John Cherry told Gongwer: “There are provisions that allow observation, but to somehow suggest it needs to be former police officers? Are they going to be operating with a badge? Are they going to be using old uniforms? Is this about intimidation or is it about assuring the integrity of the election.”
- Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum told the Detroit News: “If Mike Rogers does not want to lose because of the legitimate votes of qualified, registered voters in the City of Detroit, I would recommend spending less time trying to negate their votes… But he is starting off from behind when he tries to intimidate and disenfranchise the city with the largest concentration of people of color in the state.”
- Detroit City Council Member Denzel McCampbell reacted to Rogers’ remarks on X: “After the U.S. Supreme Court further gutted the Voting Rights Act earlier this week, @MikeRogersForMI said hold my beer and went into full Jim Crow mode.”
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