Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers shifts campaign focus to ending Iran war amid price concerns
Republican Senate hopeful Mike Rogers, who previously supported the U.S. strike on Iran, is now urging a swift end to the conflict, linking it to rising grocery and fuel costs as he campaigns against Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed.
Mike Rogers, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, has released a new television ad that blames the war with Iran for higher grocery and fuel prices. In the 30-second spot, filmed in a grocery-store aisle, Rogers says, "Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down," before adding that ending the war would cause energy costs to fall.
The ad marks a notable change from Rogers’ earlier stance. During the early months of the conflict, which began on Feb. 28, he publicly praised President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran, describing the war as "long overdue" and later calling Iran "absolutely a toothless wonder." He continued to defend the operation on conservative talk shows through July, arguing that the United States should persist until Iran’s nuclear ambitions were neutralized.
Rogers’ campaign now argues that the war’s continuation is harming Michigan families, especially farmers facing higher diesel prices during harvest. A campaign spokesperson said, ">We’ve been pretty patient on the timeline. I think the best option now is to wind it down. There’s still other things you can do to make sure they can’t hurt their neighbors and can’t pursue a nuclear weapon."
The shift comes weeks before the November election, where Rogers will face Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who has condemned the war. Recent polling shows a majority of Americans view the conflict unfavorably and doubt its progress.
Rogers, who previously chaired the House Intelligence Committee and supported the broader war on terror, first ran for the Senate in 2023 and lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. He launched a second bid in April 2025 after Sen. Gary Peters announced retirement, securing the Republican nomination unopposed.