Longtime Michigan Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga announced earlier this year that Democrat Sen. Gary Peters would not seek reelection in major lake battlefield states in the middle of next year, saying, “My phone started ringing and didn’t ring.”
Huizenga, who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and represents Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District, which covers parts of the state’s southwestern part, emphasized that he has received “encouragement” from “grassroots people” to seek the Senate.
“I am extremely pleased and honored that this kind of support has emerged,” he said.
Michigan Senate seats are the top goal for the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections, turning from blue to red. This is because the party aims to expand its current majority of 53-47. And a new showdown is expected to be one of the most expensive and brutal battles of this cycle.
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Michigan Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga will speak at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Portage, Michigan on November 1, 2024 (Bill Huizenga Campaign)
Huizenga, now vice-chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, when asked about funding, pointed out “the connection that has made my last connection here, which is now eighth terms.”
“I’m a Michigan donor. I’m a national donor,” he advertised. “I have a network of people that have been very helpful in the past, and they are very interested in helping me again.”
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But Huizenga isn’t the only Republican making a fuss about the Senate run.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers announced at the end of January that he is “strongly considering” the second Republican run.
And Rogers, a former FBI special agent who later chaired the House Intelligence Email Committee during his tenure in Congress, could announce his campaign on Monday.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers will speak at a Trump/Vance campaign rally held in Flint, Michigan on November 4, 2024 (AP Photo/Paul Sansyka)
Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senator nomination in Michigan, but was slightly defeated by Democratic nominee Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the Democratic election last November for the long-time senator of retired Sen. Debbie Stavenow. Slotkin, who had far surpassed the Rogers, framed him with about 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.
When asked whether Rogers’ launch of the campaign would affect the decision-making process, Huizenga said, “Let’s be honest, no.”
“The question everyone needs to answer is who can win? Who can win? Who can win in Michigan, I think Michigan’s politics has changed. That’s the reality,” he said.
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Michigan was once part of a Democratic blue-walled state, which supported party candidates in the presidential election. But President Donald Trump carried Michigan narrowly with White House victories in 2016 and 2024.
“What we don’t know is whether the Trump coalition of unions, Hispanics, Arab Americans, especially African Americans, especially men, will come out and support Donald Trump, support those independents and Republicans, and whether that coalition will be held,” Huizenga said.
Michigan Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga arrives at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Portage, Michigan on November 1, 2024 (Bill Huizenga Campaign)
And Huizenga pointed to a double-digit reelection margin last year in competitive home districts (his seat is one of the 35 home seats Democrats are targeting in the middle of next year). Democrats’ government Gretchen Whitmer narrowly won the district in his 2022 reelection victory, with Trump scoring six points last November.
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Trump’s support, with the agitation of the GOP ever stronger than ever, is expected to play a key role in the Republican Senator in Michigan.
And while Trump hasn’t considered racing yet, Rogers hired veteran Republican strategist and 2024 Trump co-campaign manager Chris Lacivita as senior adviser earlier this year.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate and former Senate Mike Rogers are working with former President Donald Trump at a campaign event hosted by Trump at a Folk Production Manufacturing facility in Walker, Michigan on September 27, 2024.
Asked about his relationship with Trump, Huizenga called it “very good” and claimed that there was one elected official who spoke at all three of his last rallies. [in Michigan]2016, 2020, 2024, that’s me. ”
Regarding his timetable, Huizenga said:
“We’re still over a year away from the filing deadline, so I’m not in a very hurry as there are a lot of runways here,” he added. “It needs to be done right away, but we have enough time to make sure we have the right candidate this summer or shortly after Workers’ Day.”
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And what appears to be a comment directed at Rogers, Huizenga added, “It’s better to have the right person in the right person than someone else early on.”
In addition to Rogers and Huizenga, executive, conservative commentator and 2022 Republican governor candidate Tudor Dixon said he is seriously pondering another run for the governor or Senate in 2026.
And it is believed that Kevin Rinke, a Republican businessman and car dealer who ran for governor in 2022, will also be considering another statewide run next year.
Democrat Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow launched his 2026 campaign for the US Senate in the Great Lakes battlefield state earlier this month. (Reuters/Elizabeth Franz)
Earlier this month, Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow launched a campaign to make a democratic Senate nomination.
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Kristen MacDonald Rivet and Haley Stevens are considering running, similar to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Last month, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Battigieg, who served as Transportation Secretary in former President Joe Biden’s administration, ruled out the campaign after seriously considering his bid.
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
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